Discover it® Balance Transfer review: The most rewarding balance transfer card available

Like the Discover it® Balance Transfer card, the Citi Double Cash® Card is one of the few credit cards that offers substantial rewards and features a long intro APR on balance transfers.

The Double Cash card earns up to 2 percent unlimited cash back on all purchases (1 percent when you make a purchase and another 1 percent when you pay your credit card bill). While your focus with a balance transfer card should be to pay down outstanding balances, this rewards structure might be better for you if rotating categories are difficult to manage or you plan to pair it with other Citi credit cards. Plus, earning rewards for payments could encourage healthy card habits.

But the Citi Double Cash doesn’t offer an intro APR for purchases  — which can help prevent additional debt — and its ongoing APR is higher than that of the Discover card. The Citi Double Cash also charges a 3 percent foreign transaction fee, which will eat into any rewards you’d earn abroad.

You can earn higher rates with the Discover it® Balance Transfer, but you can earn unlimited cash back with the Citi Double Cash. 

If you need to pay off debt but don’t want to miss out on Discover’s cash back match offer, quarterly bonus categories and account protection features, this card is a great option. Anyone who wants to take advantage of Discover's benefits while managing their debt will find what they need here. 

If you can track your spending and activate your bonus categories every quarter, then you can maximize your earnings with the Discover it® Balance Transfer. Here are the most recent rotating categories in Discover’s cash back calendar:

• Q1 2024 (January through March): Drug stores and restaurants
• Q2 2024 (April through June): Gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations, home improvement stores and public transit
• Q3 2024 (July through September): Walmart and grocery stores
• Q4 2024 (October through December): Amazon.com and Target

You'll like the Discover it® Balance Transfer card if you need to complete a balance transfer but want to continue using the card after you pay off your balance. Since it’s one of the few balance transfer cards that also offers rewards, there’s still value to be had long after the intro APR offers end.

The primary factor in a balance transfer or low-interest card’s rating is the quality of its introductory APR offer and ongoing APR. This includes both the introductory rate itself and the length of the intro APR on both balance transfers and new purchases. 

For cards designed primarily for balance transfers, the intro APR offer on balance transfers has the largest impact on overall score. The quality of these cards’ intro APR on new purchases is also considered, but holds less weight than the intro APR on balance transfers. 

For general low-interest cards, the intro APR offer on new purchases has the largest impact on overall score, followed by the ongoing APR and intro APR offer on balance transfers. This weighting assumes cardholders considering a card in this category will prioritize payment flexibility on new purchases or may need to carry a balance long term, whereas cardholders trying to pay off debt will opt for a dedicated balance transfer card.

The cards that score the highest in these categories tend to offer long 0-percent intro APRs on both balance transfers and new purchases as well as a lower-than-average low-end APR.

Along with evaluating each card’s intro APR offers, we score balance transfer and low-interest cards based on their fees. 

Of primary importance is a card’s balance transfer fee, since this can play a large role in the total cost of a balance transfer. We rate each card’s balance transfer fee based on how it stacks up against the fee you’ll find on competing cards. 

While this fee carries less weight when we assess general low-interest cards than dedicated balance transfer cards, it still factors into our evaluation since cardholders may decide to transfer debt to a low-interest card even if it offers no intro APR or an intro APR higher than 0 percent.

And while a lower balance transfer fee could save you more overall than a few extra months of 0-percent intro APR, this fee carries less weight in our scoring system than a card’s introductory APR and intro APR period. This is because many users prioritize getting as much time as possible to pay off debt while avoiding interest. 

Our ratings also factor in the presence of annual, foreign transaction, cash advance and late payment fees, along with penalty APRs. Annual fees are weighted most heavily since these are the only “unavoidable” fees in the list and tend to be less common on dedicated balance transfer and low-interest credit cards.

While getting a generous intro APR offer and low ongoing APR are likely to be the biggest priorities for someone looking for a low-interest or balance transfer card, we also consider how much value a card can offer after its intro APR comes to an end. 

Balance transfer and low-interest cards receive a higher rating if they also include an ongoing rewards program or unique and valuable perks. Such features make a card more useful long term and make it less likely you’ll need to apply for a new card (and temporarily hurt your credit score) after you pay off debt.

You cannot transfer a balance from one Discover card to another. You can only transfer a balance to a Discover card from another issuer's card.

The easiest way to request a balance transfer with Discover is to go to your online account. Click "Balance Transfer" under the "Manage" tab. Follow the instructions and tell Discover where you are transferring your balance from. Be sure to have your information from your previous issuer and how much you plan to transfer to your new card.

You can also transfer your balance through the Discover mobile app or by calling the phone number on the back of your Discover card.

Discover also provides a good variety of redemption options:

• An electronic direct deposit to an eligible bank account
• A statement credit
• A gift card
• A charitable donation
• A payment for Amazon.com and PayPal purchases

There’s no minimum rewards balance you need, and you can redeem at any time, unless redeeming for rewards as a gift card. Gift cards start at $5 and go up to $200 in value (redeemed in increments of $5). You may also get a bonus value of up to 20 percent, depending on the partner merchant. Your cash back also won’t expire for the life of your account, as long as the account remains open.