The Citi Diamond Preferred card is my go-to credit card. The interest rate isn’t the best, but when I really appreciated the 18 months with no interest, and from time to time the card offers me a no interest balance transfer. The balance transfers can also be used to deposit money straight into a bank account if you need a little cash. This means you can get money straight in the bank without having to pay the higher cash advance rates (you don’t get the cash immediately, however). It is easy to schedule online payments on their website. If you don’t have the credit to get a better interest rate, this is a great card to use in the meantime.

This card has done what we wanted it to. We love the rewards. The black color is pretty sweet, and it is great to have them as a credit provider. Once, our number was stolen, and they called us to tell us that there were unauthorized transactions, and they took care of everything. We just love, love, love it. I am so thankful that they provided me the opportunity to write this review. GO CITICARD!

I’m trying to find a connection between Diamonds, Platinum, and Simplicity. Does Citi think it’s easy to get diamonds and platinum? I don’t know, but the Citi Diamond Preferred Card, Platinum Select Card and Simplicity Card all offer basically the same terms. None offers rewards or charges an annual fee. All charge 3% balance transfer fees. All require excellent credit. And all offer 0% on both purchases and balance transfers for 18 months. So should you pick one? Should it be the Diamond Preferred Citicard or another? How do you choose. Here’s my pro/con list for the Diamond Preferred Card, I think it will help.

Pros

- 0% on purchases for 18 months: A year and a half without having to pay interest on a big purchase? Yes please. The same length of time to only pay the minimum each month and let my money EARN interest? Course.
- No annual fee: You don’t want to waste money on an annual fee when your trying to save on interest.
- Lowish regular rate: The Diamond Preferred’s regular APR is 11.99 – 21.99%, depending on your credit standing. This is the same as the Platinum Select and slightly better than the Simplicity’s 12.99-21.99%.

Cons

- 3% balance transfer fee: This can cost you hundred(s) of bucks, so it makes the Citi Diamond Preferred Credit Card ill-suited for balance transfers.
- High credit requirement: It sorta stinks that you need excellent credit to get the Diamond Preferred Card because the people who you’d think would really need help paying off debt are those with lower scores.

When you get down to it, there is really no difference between the Citi Diamond Preferred Card and the Citi Platinum Select Card; either would be a great choice for paying off big purchases. Neither would be better for balance transfers than the No Balance Transfer Fee Chase Slate Card.

I’ll tell ya what, no matter how good the Citi Diamond Preferred Card is, I’d “prefer” and actual “diamond.” It’s hard to imagine anyone who wouldn’t, so let’s move past that premise to what the Diamond Preferred Citi Card does and does not offer. First of all, it doesn’t have rewards (a bad thing) or annual fees (a good thing). It does, however, offer a 0% APR for purchases and balance transfers for 21 months. That means you could buy a diamond (or another big-ticket item) with the Citi Diamond Preferred Credit Card and have the opportunity to pay for it interest free. You could also leave your would be credit card payments in the bank for 21 months, so that you can earn the good kind of interest (make sure to still make minimum payments if you take this approach). But you could not leave your payments in the bank while earning rewards on the purchases you make with the Diamond Preferred Card and in doing so double your free money because the Diamond Preferred Card doesn’t offer rewards. The Discover More Card offers the best chance to do this because it has 0% on purchases and transfers for 21 months as well as cash back rewards on every purchase. Whether you get the More Card or the Citibank Diamond Preferred seems depends on your ability to pay your bills in the 0% time allotted and how your bank account’s interest rate compares to the More Card’s rewards earning rate (i.e. whether you would get more from 21 months of 0% or 15 months with rewards).

Ultimately, while the Citi Diamond Preferred Card is not the card to get if you want rewards, it is one of the best offers out there for people looking for lower interest costs. It’s not too unique though in the sense that the Citi Simplicity and Platinum Select Cards both offer 0% for 21 months as well (the Simplicity Card offers a slightly higher regular interest rate range than the other two).