Best 0% and Low-Interest Credit Cards
Credit cards often come with different benefit emphasis including saving money, earn rewards, business use and more. One thing to remember is that low-interest rate usually refers to the purchase rate, while sometimes what you really need is a low-interest balance transfer card. If you are looking for a card to help you pay off the debt faster, then you need a low-interest balance transfer credit card. If you need a card to finance a purchase, then a card with long 0% purchase offer will be great. If you want to prepare for some emergencies, then you might need a card with a consistent low-interest rate. Do think clearly before choosing a card because a wrong card may cost you much money in interest.
To help you choose a suitable credit card for your spending habits and budget, here we've listed some top-rated cards in the low-interest card category with detailed descriptions.
- No.1 Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
- No.2 Chase Freedom Unlimited℠
- No.3 Barclaycard CashForward™ World Mastercard®
- No.4 BankAmericard® Credit Card
- No.5 Discover it® Cashback Match™
- No.6 Barclaycard Ring™ Mastercard®
- No.7 Citi Simplicity® Card
- No.8 PNC Core Visa Credit Card
No.1 Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
- 21-month 0% introductory period
- No Late Fees Ever
- No annual fee
Pros
The Citi Diamond Preferred card offers perhaps the longest 0% APR period - 21 months, which is 6-9 months longer than other cards. Cardholders have 21 months to pay off debts, and even if they cannot make it in 21 months, the card's "go-to rate" starts at a low 13.49 percent. Citi Diamond Preferred card allows users to transfer any debt to their cards on condition that the account number is five digits long at least and doesn’t contain any letters.
Cons
The Citi Diamond Preferred card charges $5 or 3% transfer fee and higher penalties than other cards for people who miss payments. The card also doesn’t give users any points, miles, or rewards.
Summary
For people carrying a large balance, or planning a big purchase, the card will save a lot of money in interest since it offers nearly two years' 0% APR period.
No.2 Chase Freedom Unlimited℠
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Bonus cash back for the first 3 month
- No annual fee
- Long 0% intro APR
Pros
With Chase Freedom UnlimitedSM, users can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase they make. You can also earn an additional $150 bonus cash back as long as you make $500 or more purchases in the first 3 months. There’s a 0% intro APR for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers and it charges no annual fee. Besides, the card has long-term value because if you pair the card with either the Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card, then your points can be combined, which will significantly increase their value. The points you combined can be redeemed for cash back, airline miles or other things, and the 1.5% cash back rate can get increased.
Cons
The card charges 5% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum) and a 3% foreign transaction fee, which will cost cardholders much money in interest. Chase Freedom Unlimited card also has no bonus categories.
Summary
Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ card is suitable for people who use it mainly for making purchases instead of doing balance transfers.
No.3 Barclaycard CashForward™ World Mastercard®
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- Bonus cash back for the first 3 month
- Cash rewards redemption bonus
- No annual fee
- Long 0% intro APR
Pros
For every purchase you make, you can get 1.5% cash back. You can also receive a $200 bonus as long as you make $1,000 or more purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. The cash rewards can be redeemed for a deposit, gift cards or other things. Every time you redeem a reward, the card will offer you a 5% cash rewards redemption bonus to use at your next redemption. Also, there's a 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on purchases and 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months balance transfers made within the first 45 days. There is no annual fee, and the rewards will not expire as long as you don't close your account. As a Mastercard credit card, it gives you more widespread merchant acceptance of it than other cards from American Express or Discover.
Cons
It charges 3% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum) and 3% foreign transaction fee.
Summary
The Barclaycard CashForward is easy to use because its rewards structure is much easier than the rotating categories structure of other cards. It's a good card for purchase and balance transfer made for the first several days.
No.4 BankAmericard® Credit Card
- 15-month 0% introductory period
- No balance transfer fee for the first 60 days
- No annual fee
Pros
The BankAmericard Credit Card offers a long 15-month 0% introductory period and the lowest on-going rate at 12.99% - 22.99%.
Cons
The BankAmericard card offers no 0 percent APR on purchases, so cardholders mainly use this card to transfer balance. Moreover, you need to pay 3% of the amount transferred or $10 transfer fee after the first 60 days. The card also charges low-credit users with a high 21.74% APR.
Summary
The BankAmericard Credit Card will save you a lot of in interest and fees if you have a large debt to pay. It's not a good option for people with low credit score.
No.5 Discover it® Cashback Match™
- No annual fee
- Free FICO score
- Cash back bonus
- Rotating bonus categories
- New cardmember bonus
Pros
With broad rewards bonus categories, Discover it Cashback Match rewards credit card enables to get 5% bonus on online retailer, restaurants, gas stations and more others. Meanwhile, the bonus changes each quarter. This credit card gives people access to the Discover Deals online bonus mall, which makes people enjoy 5%-20% cash back on purchases at popular online stores in the condition of signing up the credit card. Furthermore, this card with no foreign transaction fee offers people a distinctive sign-up bonus, that is, the one dollar-for-dollar match all the cash back you’ve got at the end of your first year automatically.
Cons
Cardholders need to remember that what kind of spending will maximize the reward bonus each quarter. Aside from that, you won’t get the 5% cash back if you forget to opt into the bonus categories.
Summary
Discover credit card helps you save a lot to buy things from popular retailers at the Discover Deals online mall with the high cash back rates. You will be the last winner with multiple bonuses of Discover credit card including the 0 annual fee, rotating 5% bonus categories, a new cardmember bonus, and a solid intro APR.
No.6 Barclaycard Ring™ Mastercard®
- 0% on Balance Transfers & Purchases for 15 months
- No balance transfer fee
- No penalty fees
- No annual fee
Pros
The Barclaycard Ring Mastercard combines an introductory 0% APR period with no balance transfer fees forever. You won't be charged with penalty fees or annual fees.
Cons
You are not allowed to transfer balances from other Barclaycard products. To get approved for this card, you need to keep an excellent credit.
Summary
For people who have excellent credit, the Barclaycard Ring Mastercard proves to be cost-effective since you can pay your debt interest-free and fee-free.
No.7 Citi Simplicity® Card
- Long 0% APR period
- No late fee
- No penalty APR
- No annual fee
Pros
Citi Simplicity® Card offers a 21-month 0% introductory APR on both balance transfer and purchases. Citi Simplicity card charges no annual fee, no late fee, and no penalty APR.
Cons
The interest rate is varied between 14.49% - 24.49%, and you won't know your rate until you apply.
Summary
By offering the longest 0% APR period, this card gives users more time to finance a purchase or offset balance-transfer fee. Also, users don't have to worry about late payments since there is no late fee and no penalty APR.
No.8 PNC Core Visa Credit Card
- Long 0% APR period
- No annual fee
- Low ongoing rate
Pros
PNC Core® Visa Credit Card offers a 15-month 0% Intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers made within 90 days. Its minimum APR (10.74 percent) is considerably lower than the APRs of other cards, and it's about 5 percentage points below the national average APR for credit cards. Also, you’ll receive 3% of the amount for each balance transferred for the first 3 months, and after that, you can receive 4% on balance transfers! There’s also no annual fee applied to this card.
Cons
The card offers no rewards or sign-up bonus.
Summary
For people who have a large balance to carry, the Core Visa card’s 15-month interest-free period and its low ongoing APR can be really helpful. This card is also an excellent choice for people who want to enjoy PNC’s balance transfer perks.