Citi has released a new credit card balance transfer that offers 0% APR for up to 18 months. Yep, 18 months.
But remember, the key phrase is “up to.” If your credit isn’t where they want it to be, you might only receive 0% APR for 12 months, or worse, just 7 months.
Either way, this is the first time I’ve seen a credit card issuer offer 0% balance transfer APR for longer than 16 months. And it comes as a surprise given the relative fragility of the economy at the moment.
Of course, that’s leaving out Discover’s now infamous 0% APR for life balance transfer credit card, which seems to be a thing of the past thanks to new credit card legislation.
The 0% APR for 18 months offer is tied to the Citi Platinum Select MasterCard, and applies to both purchases and balance transfers.
There is a balance transfer fee of 3% with a $5 minimum and no max fee, but Citi is not charging an annual fee for the credit card.
Additionally, the company is offering a $30 statement credit for first-time cardmembers if they make at least $30 in purchases during the first three months.
The standard variable purchase APR can be as low as 9.99%.
I guess things are looking up at Citi; their stock price has certainly risen in recent months and the government already announced plans to sell their stake.
The only question now is will someone step up and offer 0% APR for 24 months? Stay tuned.
Related offer: Discover is currently offering 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months – they don’t use the “up to” verbiage.