Need help tackling credit card debt? A terrific way to help pay it down is by getting a credit card with a balance transfer offer. With high interest rates, it’s easy for credit card debt to balloon, and you’ll be paying a significant amount of money on interest.
Instead of paying the typical 19.99% interest on your balance, you can get a rate as low as 0% for up to a year. That’s a whole lot of money you’re paying straight toward your balance, and not interest.
So what credit cards can help you? Here are the best balance transfer credit card offers you can take a look at.
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Top 4 low interest balance transfer credit card offers
Let us be cliché and say: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade and find ways to cut that interest rate to the bone while paying your balance ASAP.
One of the best ways to do that is to transfer your high interest credit card balance to a new credit card with a 0% interest rate (yes, they exist!) for up to almost a full year.
Just make sure you have a plan to pay off that balance in full BEFORE the promotion is up.
Otherwise, high-interest rates will kick in again and you’ll be right back where you started. And of course, there are some other rules, you can read about them here.
Here are 5 of the best balance transfer credit cards in Canada.
| Credit Card | Annual fee | Balance transfer promo | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| MBNA True Line Mastercard | $0 |  $135 GeniusCash + 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months (terms) |
Apply |
| BMO CashBack Mastercard | $0 | $20 GeniusCash + 0.99% for 9 months (terms) |
Apply |
| BMO AIR MILES Mastercard | $0 | $20 GeniusCash + 0.99% for 9 months (terms) |
Apply |
| BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard | $29 | 0.99% interest on balance transfers for 9 months (terms) | Apply |
1) MBNA True Line Mastercard
The best balance transfer credit card offer in Canada is with the
The balance transfer offer with this credit card is 0% for 12 months. This means you’ll have a whole year of not having to pay interest.
And once your balance transfer is done, you’ll still see a low interest rate of 17.99% on balance transfers.
This card also has a low interest rate of 12.99% on purchases – sadly the cash advance rate is still a high 24.99%.
This package has no annual fee or income requirements.
×2 Award winner 
GC: $135
2x Award winner
2) BMO CashBack Mastercard
Another top balance transfer credit card in Canada is the
With this BMO Mastercard, you’ll get a balance transfer offer of 0.99% for 9 months, with a low transfer fee of 2%. This offer will let you get ahead of your credit card debt for most of a year, which can help you pay that debt more quickly.
Once your debt is paid off, you can also earn cash back on every purchase you make:
- 3% cash back on groceries (up to $500 per month)
- 1% cash back on recurring bill payments (up to $500 per month)
- 0.5% cash back on all other purchases
GC: $20
3) BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
BMO also has a sweet deal for the
The nice thing about this card is that you’ll also earn valuable AIR MILES with every purchase you make.
However, we suggest you wait until your balance transfer is paid off in full before you start using it for purchases.
But if you’re looking for a solid no fee rewards card that also gives you a low intro rate on balance transfers, this could be the card to consider.
GC: $20
4) BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard
BMO’s low interest credit card, the
You’ll get a rate of 0.99% for 9 months. And while it has the highest intro balance transfer rate of these cards, it also has a low permanent balance transfer rate of 15.99%, which is better than the others.
In case you don’t pay your debt by the end of the 9-month intro period, you’ll still get a lower interest rate than most other credit cards. It has a low annual fee of $29, which is waived for the first year. Additional savings you can use towards paying your debt.
Interest rates compared for the best balance transfer credit cards
So which out of these top 5 cards has the best interest rate? To put it into perspective, we’ve created a visual comparison so you can see how they stack up against each other, both for introductory balance transfer offers and standard balance transfer rates after their promotion periods have expired.
Best balance transfer credit card offers compared
As seen in the chart, nothing can beat MBNA True Line Mastercard’s 0% interest rate for a whole 12 months. Taking advantage of this offer will let you focus on paying off your debt for an entire year, without having to worry for a while about the impending doom of interest.
Standard interest rates for the best balance transfer credit cards compared
It’s important to remember that these promotional offer periods are temporary, and that after they’re done, you’ll be faced again with standard interest rates.
Even so, the MBNA True Line Mastercard still has impressively low balance transfer and purchase interest rates.
Although you should ideally focus on paying off your debt first rather than piling on additional purchases, we’ve also included purchase interest and cash advance interest rates as something to keep in mind.
Annual savings in one year
So the big question – how much can you save in one year on interest?
Assuming you have existing credit card debt of $8,000, here’s how much you would save with one of these balance transfer credit cards over 1 year. This number factors in the promotional rate – interest rates once the promo is over – and the fee you’d have to pay to transfer your balance.
This is where the MBNA True Line card really shines. Other than the 3% fee you have to pay, it’s pure interest savings for a whole year.
You’re getting the lowest interest rate possible
There’s no short or long term loan in Canada that offers a better interest rate than a 0% interest credit card balance transfer offer (currently offered by the
While it can be difficult to pay off a credit card from one bank with another credit card from the same bank, it’s easy to apply for a 2nd balance transfer card when your first promo rate is about to expire.
Use that to pay off the 1st. That’s one way to extend your low interest rate for a much longer period until you can finally get that debt paid off.
Just keep an eye on your credit score, because running a high balance and applying for credit cards too often can start to drag it down. 1 or 2 cards per year are okay if you have a healthy score, but it’s better to avoid doing any more than that.
Your turn
Have you ever taken advantage of a balance transfer credit card offer?
Was it worth it? How much did you manage to save on interest?
Tell us all about it in the comments!
FAQ
Is it a good idea to do a balance transfer?
Balance transfers can be a powerful financial tool that can help you reduce your interest payments and help you pay off your debt more quickly. The key is to find a balance transfer credit card with a low introductory interest rate that will be in effect long enough for you to put a serious dent in your debt (or ideally pay it off in full). You can see our comparison of the best balance transfer credit cards in Canada.
Do balance transfers affect your credit score?
Balance transfers themselves will not affect your credit score, but any time you apply for a new credit card, your credit score will take a small hit. But if you’re able to use a balance transfer credit card to pay off your debt more quickly, this will have a significant positive impact on your score, so it’s worth taking the small, short-term hit in order to make those more significant long-term gains.
Who has the best balance transfer deal?
Right now, BMO has the best balance transfer credit card offer in Canada, with the MBNA True Line Mastercard. You’ll get a super low rate of 0% interest for 12 months on balance transfers, with a low transfer fee of 3%.
Is there a downside to balance transfers?
There are 2 possible downsides to balance transfers. First, any time you apply for a new credit card, your credit score will take a small hit when the issuer does a hard credit check. This small hit will be offset if you take advantage of the offer to pay down your debt more quickly, so it can be worth it. The second downside is that you really shouldn’t use your new credit card to make regular purchases until you have paid off your balance transfer in full. Credit card interest works in complicated ways, and you may end up paying higher interest than you may expect, for longer than you expect.
Which cards are the best after promotional balance transfer credit card offers have expired?
You’ll want to take advantage of balance transfer offers while they’re active, but after they’ve expired, the best card for standard balance transfer rates listed in this article is the MBNA True Line Mastercard. With these cards, you’re getting a low rate of 17.99% on balance transfers, which is much better than typical credit card interest.
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