Reduce your credit card debt with a Citi balance transfer.
If you’re struggling to make a dent in your debt, then it might be time to explore some of the debt consolidation options available. A balance transfer with Citi could be your answer to clearing your debt for good. Here’s a summary of some of the features, benefits and conditions you can expect if you conduct a balance transfer with Citi.
Citi Credit Card Offer
Take advantage of Citi Rewards Platinum Credit Card's 0% p.a. for 24 months balance transfer offer and a reduced annual fee for the first year.
- $49 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($149 p.a. thereafter) annual fee
- 20.99% p.a. on purchases
- 0% p.a. for 24 months with 1.5% balance transfer fee on balance transfers
- Cash Advance Rate of 21.74% p.a.
- Up to 55 days interest free
- Minimum Income Requirement of $35,000 p.a.
What is a balance transfer?
A balance transfer allows you repay your debt faster by consolidating your debts onto the one low interest credit card. Balance transfers can be a suitable solution if you have an outstanding debt on a high interest credit card and want to take advantage of a promotional low rate of interest. The low interest period gives you some breathing room to meet your repayments and clear your debt before the card reverts to higher interest rates.
What are the benefits?
- Period of low interest rates. Citi offer promotional low rate periods of 0% p.a. for up to 12 months. The main feature of the balance transfer is the promotional low interest period. It’s recommended that you make the most of this time and aim to have your debt cleared before the promotional period ends.
- Quick application process. Applying for a Citi credit card is simple. The application process should take less than 15 minutes to complete if you have all your personal information ready, and you can expect a response in 60 seconds once you submit the form.
- Online budgeting tool. Citi offer a useful online budgeting tool to help you take control of your finances and repay your debt within the promotional time period.
What else should I consider?
- Deciding which credit card is right for you. You can conduct a balance transfer with a number of Citi credit cards, and each one comes with different benefits and balance transfer offers. To find the right one for you, consider the size of your debt, the promotional interest rate and the length of time the offer is available to determine whether it’s the right option for you. Start by comparing Citi credit cards.
- Annual fee. Credit cards can incur an annual fee. It’s important to consider the annual fee so you can understand the total cost of the card when you’re trying to consolidate your debts.
- Avoid using your card to make purchases. Ideally, you should only be using your Citi balance transfer credit card for debt consolidation, not purchases. Even if you can earn rewards points on purchases, you should concentrate on repaying your debt, not growing it. If you want to use the card for emergencies or purchases after the balance transfer is paid, you’ll want to consider the purchase rate as well.
- Revert rate. If your debt isn’t cleared after the promotional low rate period ends, your remaining balance will collect the much higher cash advance interest rate.
- Eligible banks. You can transfer any non-Citi products with an outstanding balance to a new Citi credit card, including other credit cards, store cards or loans within Australia. You can check if your bank is eligible here.
Balance transfers not allowed between the following issuers and Citi:- IMB
- Suncorp
- CUA
- Bank of Queensland
- Virgin
- Balance transfer fee. The Citi Rewards Credit Card has a balance transfer fee of 1.5%. Currently, no other Citi balance transfer products charge this fee.
- Credit card limit request. Before applying, calculate what your credit card limit request will be. Your total balance transfers cannot exceed of your credit limit with Citi, so you’ll want to make sure that the Citi credit card can support your entire debt.
How to apply for a Citi balance transfer
You can apply if you’re over 18, an Australian permanent resident and have a good credit rating. The application process will take around 10 minutes to complete and you’ll receive a response within 60 seconds of submitting the form. You’ll need to have the following information handy so you can answer the questions on the application form:
- Contact details
- Details about your employment (employment status, primary occupation and employer's contact details)
- If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to provide your accountant's name, the name of the accounting firm, and their contact phone number
- Gross income and monthly expenses
- For balance transfers, name on account, type of card or account, card or account number, the amount being transferred, and the issuing organisation's name and address
The application process
- Selecting a credit card. Once you’ve compared your options and decided on a card, you can click on the green ‘Go to Site’ button located on the right of the comparison table to begin your online application.
- Contact details. First off, you’ll need to provide your contact details, marital status, driver’s licence number, residential address and phone details.
- Employment details. This is where you’ll need to provide details about your employment, including the company’s name, address and contact numbers.
- Finances. In this section, you’ll need to detail your personal income and expenses, so make sure you have copies of recent bank statements, payslips and invoices read. You’ll also need to request the credit limit you need, so you’ll need to have decided on this before applying to make sure it can support your balance transfer.
- Balance transfer. Now it’s time to fill and submit your balance transfer application. Here you’ll need to provide details of the amount you’ll like to transfer and details of your old account including the organisation name, biller code and BPAY customer reference number.
- Card options. Here you can opt in for extra features such as CardAssure purchase security, an additional cardholder and your membership in the rewards program.
- Review. Ensure the details you’ve entered are correct and you understand the terms and condition before you submit your application.
- Verify your identity and income details. You’ll be asked to supply copies of your driver’s licence and Australian passport via email, fax or post. Depending on your employment situation, the following may also need to be supplied:
- If you’re self employed, your two most recent tax returns or assessments
- If you’re employed on a casual, contractual or temporary basis, your employment contract and your most recent tax return or assessment
- If you’re retired, your superannuation fund statement or a letter from Centrelink that is less than 60 days old
- If you receive a salary, two months of pay slips less than 60 days old
- Track your application. Once you have uploaded the required documents, you can track your application process through the link provided in the email you received containing your application reference number.
It can take up to 5-7 business days for your application to be approved. It will then take 3-5 business days for you to receive your card and ATM PIN. It will take a further 1-2 business days for your balance transfer to be completed once you’ve activated your account. Once the balance transfer is complete, don’t forget to advise your previous bank to cancel your account if you don’t want to keep it open.
Completing a balance transfer with Citi could be your key to debt consolidation. However, as many issuers and credit cards offer balance transfer options, it’s a good idea to do your research and ensure you find the right credit card with the right features for your financial situation. Use our balance transfer credit cards comparison to find the right offer for you.
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Is the Simplicity Citibank card not available as previously advertised at 0% interest – for how long?
Hi Paula, thanks for your inquiry!
The Citi Simplicity currently has a promotional rate for balance transfers of 0% for 12 months. Please see the following link for the Citi Simplicity card review page.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hi,Is this credit card transfer offer valid also for people living in New Zealand?
Best regards
Chris