The
Discover it® Balance Transfer card is an elite 0% interest credit card for people with good credit or better. It offers introductory APRs of
0% for 18 months on balance transfers and
0% for 6 months on new purchases, followed by a regular APR of
17.24% - 28.24% Variable, depending on creditworthiness. There is a
3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*, but like all other Discover credit cards,
Discover it® Balance Transfer has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
Unlike most 0% APR credit cards worth getting, the
Discover it® Balance Transfer card gives rewards on purchases. Cardholders earn 5% cash back up to a quarterly maximum spent in designated bonus categories that require activation, along with 1% back on all other purchases. Discover also doubles all the rewards new cardmembers earn the first year as an anniversary gift.
Below, you can find the rest of the info you’ll need to decide whether or not to apply for the Discover balance transfer credit card.
Discover it Balance Transfer Review Highlights: - Discover’s best balance-transfer deal. The Discover it Balance Transfer card offers 0% introductory interest on transfers for months longer than any other Discover credit card, including Discover it® Cash Back. But its position as the best Discover credit card for reducing the cost of existing debt doesn’t mean it’s the best card for that purpose overall. Neither does the fact that the average 0% balance transfer period lasts for 13 months. After the intro period concludes, any remaining balances are subject to the card's regular APR: 17.24% - 28.24% Variable, depending on creditworthiness.
- Balance transfers are not free. The Discover it Balance Transfer card’s main weakness is its balance-transfer fee: 3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*. That makes it inferior to competing cards with the same fee but longer 0% introductory terms, or slightly shorter 0% terms and no fee. You can use WalletHub’s Balance Transfer Calculator to compare the costs of each option and find the best balance transfer credit card for your needs.
- Not as good for big-ticket buys. The Discover it Balance Transfer gives you 6 months without interest, which is well below the market average for a 0% card (11 months). So if you’re planning a big-ticket purchase that will take a while to pay off, this is not the card to use.
- Potential for a very high regular rate. The length of the Discover it Balance Transfer credit card’s promotional financing periods is so important because of what follows them: a regular APR range of 17.24% - 28.24% Variable, depending on your creditworthiness. The low end of that range is about the same as the average APR among credit cards for people with excellent credit, but the high end is above even the average for people with fair credit. So you could get walloped by finance charges if you carry a balance beyond the friendly confines of the card’s 0% intro terms.
- Same rewards as the standard Discover it® Cash Back card. You won’t sacrifice any rewards value relative to the Discover it® Cash Back card by opting for balance-transfer version. They offer the exact same things: 5% cash back in specified bonus categories up to a quarterly maximum (requires activation), plus 1% cash back on everything else and double rewards the first year your account is open. That said, only the bonus-category earning rates are above-average, and the bonus categories rotate quarterly.
- No annual fee. This makes the Discover it Balance Transfer card $22.29 per year cheaper than the average credit card. But even though many of the best rewards cards do charge annual fees, they still have the potential to yield far more overall value, thanks to vastly superior earning rates.
- Good credit required. The Discover it Balance Transfer card’s good-credit requirement means it must compete with the market’s top transfer and rewards offers. So you’d be wise to check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub before you apply.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.