Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card review

Finder experts pick Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card as a 2021 best product for credit cards.

How to apply for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

1. Click Apply now.
2. Complete the application with details like your name, address, annual income and Social Security number.
3. Review and submit your application.

What credit score do I need?

You typically have better odds of getting a balance transfer credit card with a good to excellent credit score of 670 or higher. This is a good rule of thumb if you’re thinking about applying for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card. However, remember that approval is never guaranteed no matter what your credit score is.

Major card benefits

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card doesn’t offer many benefits, but it’s an excellent card for intro APRs. Here are the main perks to look into.

• No annual fee Having a $0 annual fee makes it easy to keep your Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card open even after your intro APR expires. Even if you won’t earn rewards, keeping your card open keeps your average age of credit accounts high and protect your FICO score.
• Excellent balance transfer APR Get a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months from the date of your first transfer, then 14.74% to 24.74% variable. You’ll get this rate on all transfers within the first 4 months of card membership.

  Its intro APR is what makes the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card stand out among competitors. You’ll often find intro APRs that last around 15 months — 18 months is considered very high.

• Long purchase intro APRGet a 0% intro APR on purchases for 18 months after account opening, then 14.74% to 24.74% variable. This is a longer intro APR on purchases than you’ll typically find with competing products — most 1.5% cashback credit cards have purchase intro APRs of 15 months.

  You can leverage the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card’s interest-rate promotion to make purchases you’d like to pay off over a long period of time. But be sure to clear your purchase balance before the intro APR expires, or you’ll start accruing interest.

What to watch out for

Before applying for this card, determine if the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Here are a few factors to keep your eyes peeled for.

• You’ll still pay balance transfer fees Even though you get a top-notch balance transfer intro APR, you’ll still pay fees on your transfers: the greater of $5 or 3% for each transaction.
• Four-month limit to transfer your balance After you open your account, you’ll have four months to make transfers to qualify for the promotional interest rate.

  Four months is still a good deal, as many providers require you to transfer balances within 30 to 60 days after account opening. But it’s still worth looking out for so you don’t squander the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card’s biggest benefit.

• There’s a steep penalty APR If you make a late or returned payment, Citi may increase the APRs on all of your balances to up to 29.99% variable. Consumers despise this, and rightfully so. It creates a lot of pressure to be perfect every single billing cycle. Citi also says you can lose your intro APR if you make one late payment, which makes it extra important to stay vigilant about paying your card bill.

Compare similar intro APR cards

Sort by:

Name	Product	Purchase APR	Balance transfer APR	Annual fee	Filter values
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express		0% intro for the first 15 months (then 13.99% to 23.99% variable)	N/A	$0		This everyday cashback card offers a higher than average welcome offer for no annual fee, letting you earn $200 after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. Terms apply, see rates & fees	Apply now View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Chase Freedom Unlimited®		0% intro for the first 15 months (then 14.99% to 23.74% variable)	14.99% to 23.74% variable	$0		This solid 1.5% cashback card gets even better with the addition of up to 5% back in categories like travel, drug stores and dining.	Apply now View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card		0% intro for the first 18 months (then 14.74% to 24.74% variable)	0% intro for the first 18 months (then 14.74% to 24.74% variable)	$0		An impressive 18 months intro APR on balance transfers and purchases, as well as no annual fee make this one of the top 0% APR cards available.	Apply now View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

loading

Prev

1 2 3 4

Next

Compare up to 4 providers

Clear selection

Compare

Bottom line

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is a great choice if you want an excellent balance transfer intro APR. If your main concern is transferring debt, you won’t mind that the card lacks other benefits, such as rewards.

Of course, the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card isn’t the only card in town. There are plenty of other balance transfer cards that are worth a look, too.

Frequently asked questions

• If I transfer balances when I apply for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card, how long will it take for them to be processed?

  It’ll take at least 14 days for Citi to process your balance transfers.

• If Citi assesses a penalty APR, how long will the rate apply?

  The penalty APR may apply indefinitely, based on Citi’s discretion.

• Will I know for sure what my card’s APR will be before I apply?

  Unfortunately, it’s not possible to know your APR until your application is approved. Of course, the higher your credit score, the better your chances of receiving a favorable interest rate.

Images: Citi.com