Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card review: Is it the “preferred” Citi balance transfer card?

The sizable intro APR on balance transfers and the potential for a lower-than-average ongoing APR make the Citi Diamond Preferred a competitive option among balance transfer cards. 

Intro APR offer: Impressively long for balance transfers

The advantage of a balance transfer card is to get the most time to pay off credit card debt from another card. The Citi Diamond Preferred meets this need, offering a 0 percent intro APR period of 21 months from account opening on balance transfers (then 18.24 percent to 28.99 percent variable; greater of $5 or 5 percent balance transfer fee applies).

You have almost two years to pay your balance down or off without added interest, a worthwhile opportunity. To qualify for this intro offer, you must complete your balance transfer within the first four months of account opening. While the Citi Diamond Preferred offers one of the longest transfer windows available, it’s best to transfer your balance as soon as possible. If you delay your transfer until the last month of the transfer period, you’ll only have the remaining intro APR period to pay down your balance. It’ll be wise to act quickly with this offer if you want to make the most of this card.

Ongoing interest rate: Lower than average

The current average interest rate for credit cards hovers around 20 percent, which is one of the highest APR averages on record. The low end of the Citi Diamond Preferred’s ongoing interest rate falls below the current average, meaning you still may be able to save more with this card compared to others, even after the intro APR offers end.

Only a few cards match this low ongoing APR, and two of the best balance transfer cards have lower potential ongoing APRs: the Discover it® Balance Transfer credit card and the BankAmericard® credit card. Although these cards may save you more interest in long-term card ownership, both have shorter intro APR periods on balance transfers than the Citi Diamond Preferred card.

While the Citi Diamond Preferred offers a stellar intro APR offer, the card’s long-term benefits are lacking. It has no rewards program or welcome offer, a high balance transfer fee and limited cardholder perks. Once you’ve paid your balance off or your intro APR period ends, the card’s limited value makes it difficult to justify using it for new purchases.

Rewards: No rewards structure or welcome offer

Although typical for many balance transfer cards, the Citi Diamond Preferred doesn’t offer rewards or a welcome offer. If your primary goal is to pay off debt and not much else, the Citi Diamond Preferred may be ideal — especially if you have a high amount of debt to transfer to the card. But if you’re hoping to add a card to your wallet with more consistent long-term value beyond the intro APR offer, the Citi Diamond Preferred falls flat. No rewards program gives little incentive to keep spending with the card long-term, and the disappointingly short intro offer on purchases also does little to lift this card’s value beyond its balance transfer intro APR.

You may be able to find rewards cards that have comparable intro APR offers if you’re willing to sacrifice a few months of zero interest for longer ongoing value. For instance, the Discover it® Balance Transfer has a shorter intro APR offer but it earns 5 percent back on activated quarterly rotating bonus categories (up to $1,500 then 1 percent). Plus, Discover has a great portfolio of credit cards to choose from if you ever want to change your card once your intro APR period ends.

Rates and fees: Balance transfer fee is on the higher end

A balance transfer fee is often either 3 or 5 percent of the amount you transfer to another card. The Citi Diamond Preferred’s balance transfer fee falls on the high end — at $5 or 5 percent, whichever is greater — which means transferring a balance with this card will be more expensive than what you’d find on other balance transfer cards. 

For example, if you transferred $1,500 from another card to the Citi Diamond Preferred Citi will tack on another $75 to the balance. However, its intro APR period is longer than most, so plugging your balance into a balance transfer calculator can help you see if a lower-fee card with a potentially shorter intro APR period would cost less than the Citi Diamond Preferred.

Other cardholder perks: Limited outside of the Citi-specific

Some perks the Citi Diamond Preferred offers could prove helpful, but they aren’t much to write home about. The Citi Flex Loans perk, available by invitation only,  allows you to borrow money against your Citi credit card limit at a fixed rate and pay it back over a set period of time, with no additional fees, application or credit inquiry required. This feature could be useful if you need a personal installment loan down the line. 

Meanwhile, Citi Entertainment and Citi Easy Deals are common shopping and entertainment access portals like you’d find with other issuers. However, if you are trying to pay off past debt, the Citi Easy Deals could add to the balance you want to pay off, so it might not be the most worthwhile perk for those seeking a balance transfer.  The upside is that the lack of perks on this card may help you focus on paying off debt rather than chasing statement credits or spending requirements.

If you’re carrying credit card debt and facing high interest charges each month, any balance transfer card can help you pay down that balance. However, the Citi Diamond Preferred could help pay down a substantial balance over a longer period than most balance transfer cards. Transferring your balance can help you save on interest as you chip away at debt and give you a time-based incentive to pay off your debt. While you might not be able to pay off your entire balance during a card’s introductory period, having a deadline for an intro APR can be a great way to motivate monthly payments.

Here’s a look at how much you could save on interest by transferring a balance to the Citi Diamond Preferred, assuming you have average credit card debt (around $6,000), an average APR on your current card (around 20 percent) and make fixed monthly payments of $240. Based on data from Bankrate’s balance transfer calculator and minimum payment calculator, a balance transfer will enable you to pay off your debt five months earlier and save a little over $1,400 in this example. Your only extra cost with the Diamond Preferred would be the $5 or 5 percent balance transfer fee.

*Then an ongoing APR of 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable)

A handful of cards match the Citi Diamond Preferred Card’s intro APR offer, and a few offer additional benefits like cash back rewards or a lower ongoing APR. Here’s how the Citi Diamond Preferred compares to competing balance transfer credit cards.

As a solid balance transfer card, the Citi Diamond Preferred could be most beneficial to anyone looking to pay off their debt or brand loyalists

If you need to pay down debt or finance purchases, the Citi Diamond Preferred Card should be a good fit. Though it carries a high $5 or 5 percent balance transfer fee and lacks ongoing rewards or cardholder perks, this card should get the job done if you want to tackle debt and enjoy some time away from interest. 

That said, its shortened intro purchase APR and limited long-term value may make no-annual-fee rewards cards with slightly shorter intro APR periods more worthwhile options before and after you’ve paid off your balance. If you need the longest period possible to pay down your balance, the Diamond Preferred is still solid, but other balance transfer-focused cards offer more favorable intro APR periods on purchases as well.

Dig deeper: Is the Citi Diamond Preferred worth it?

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring balance transfer and low-interest cards, including each card’s introductory APR, intro APR period length, ongoing APR, balance transfer fee, perks and more.

While balance transfer and low-interest cards share a similar ratings rubric, we weigh features differently based on how a card is categorized. We categorize cards that carry an especially long intro APR offer on balance transfers as dedicated balance transfer cards, while cards that offer an especially low ongoing APR are considered general low-interest cards. 

Based on its features, we assigned this card a primary category of balance transfer and tailored our ratings accordingly. 

We analyzed over 100 of the most popular balance transfer and low-interest cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up against those of other cards in its category. 

Here’s a breakdown of what gave this card its score:

*The information about the BankAmericard® credit card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.