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 Citi Diamond Preferred meets and exceeds the primary need of a balance transfer card, offering a 0 percent intro APR period of 21 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers (then 18.24 percent to 28.99 percent variable APR; greater of $5 or 5 percent balance transfer fee applies).

You have almost two years to pay your balance down without added interest, which is among the highest available for a balance transfer card. To qualify for this offer, you must complete your balance transfer within the first four months of account opening. 

Ongoing interest rate: Lower than average

The low end of the Citi Diamond Preferred’s ongoing interest rate falls below the current average interest rate of around 20 percent, which is one of the highest average APRs on record. This means you still may be able to save more money on interest payments with this card beyond its intro APR period than you would with other cards.

Only a few cards match the Diamond Preferred card’s low ongoing APR, one of which has a lower potential ongoing APRs: the BankAmericard® credit card. The right card for you will come down to how long it will take to pay your credit card debt in full. Choose the Diamond Preferred if you can tackle a majority of it within 21 months. But if you’re planning to extend your debt management for several years, choose a card with the lowest possible ongoing APR.

The Citi Diamond Preferred card may offer a stellar intro APR offer, but its 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 keeping.

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 consolidate and pay off debt, the Citi Diamond Preferred could be a great pick. But the Citi Diamond Preferred falls flat if you want to add a card to your wallet with more consistent long-term value. The lack of a rewards program gives little incentive to keep the card long-term, and its disappointingly short intro offer on purchases does little to lift this card’s value.

If you’re willing to sacrifice a few months of your intro APR for balance transfers in favor of earning rewards, you can find several options available that boast better long-term value. For instance, the Citi Double Cash® Card has an intro APR on qualifying balance transfers that’s just shy of the Diamond Preferred card’s and it offers a generous flat cash back rate on all purchases.

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 many other balance transfer cards. 

For example, if you transferred $1,500 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 debt, the Citi Easy Deals could add to your balance. 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 you pay over a longer period than most balance transfer cards. Transferring your balance can help you save on interest 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 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 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 is most beneficial to anyone who wants to pay off their debt.

If you need to pay down debt or finance purchases, the Citi Diamond Preferred Card should be a good fit. Though it carries a $5 or 5 percent balance transfer fee (whichever is greater) and lacks rewards or cardholder perks, this card can help you tackle debt without unnecessary distractions. 

The 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, especially 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.

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.