Low interest credit cards

This offer is no longer available on our site: Chase Freedom Flex℠

Hear from our editors: The best low-interest credit cards of January 2023

Updated January 3, 2023

This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.

Editorial note: Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Written by: Eric Freeman

The best low-interest credit cards can help you finance expensive purchases, pay off existing debt or just achieve valuable peace of mind. Depending on your needs, they can be valuable tools as you manage your finances and ongoing costs.

Read on for our picks for the best low-interest cards, which offer 0% intro APRs and other useful features.

• U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Best for a long intro period
• BankAmericard® credit card: Best for a long intro period
• Wells Fargo Reflect® Card: Best for a long intro period
• Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: Best for maximizing cash back
• Chase Freedom Flex℠: Best for bonus categories
• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Best for simple cash back

U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Best for a long intro period

Here’s why: If you’re seeking low interest rates over a long intro period, this card is worth a look.

The card offers a 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers made in the first 60 days after your account opens. There’s also a balance transfer fee: Either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater. After the intro periods end, your variable APR for purchases and balance transfers will rise to 18.74% - 28.74%.

Unfortunately, this card doesn’t offer rewards to add value when the intro periods end. But if you want to manage interest, it’s a great option.

For more details, read reviews of the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card.

BankAmericard® credit card: Best for a long intro period

Here’s why: This card’s intro APR offer could help you manage existing debt or avoid interest from new purchases.

You’ll get a 0% APR for 21 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers made in the first 60 days after your account opens. After the intro period, you’ll see an ongoing variable APR of 16.24% - 26.24% for purchases and balance transfers. There’s also a balance transfer fee: Either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.

For more info, take a look at our review of the BankAmericard® credit card.

Wells Fargo Reflect® Card: Best for a long intro period

Here’s why: You’ll have the potential to get a 0% APR for 21 months if you meet certain conditions.

This card gives you a 0% intro APR for 18 months on purchases and balance transfers, but each offer can be extended by up to three months if you make on-time minimum payments throughout the intro offer and extension periods. Balance transfers must be made within 120 days of account opening, and the balance transfer fee will cost you 3% for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%; minimum: $5.

After your intro periods are over, the APR for both purchases and balance transfers rises to a variable 17.24% - 29.24%.

Read reviews of the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card for more details.

Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: Best for maximizing cash back

Here’s why: You’ll get a strong intro APR offer and the opportunity to maximize cash back in your top spending category.

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card gives you 5% back on up to $500 spent in your top eligible spending category every month — whether it’s gas, restaurants or another one of the several available options. All other purchases, including purchases made after hitting the monthly spending cap, earn 1% back.

Plus, you’ll get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers completed in the first four months your account is open. There’s also a balance transfer fee of 5% (minimum $5). After the intro periods end, your variable APR for both purchases and balance transfers will rise to 18.24% - 28.24%.

Check out reviews of the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card to learn more.

Chase Freedom Flex℠: Best for bonus categories

Here’s why: You can earn high cash back rates in numerous categories and save on interest with the intro APR offers.

This card offers 5% back on up to $1,500 spent on bonus categories that rotate every quarter. Unlike with the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, you must activate your bonus categories before you can earn the 5% rate. After you reach the spending cap each quarter, you’ll earn 1% back.

But this card stands out for its additional bonus categories. You’ll also earn 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% back at restaurants (including takeout and delivery) and drugstore purchases, and 1% back on all other purchases.

The card offers an intro 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months after your account opens. There’s also a balance transfer fee of 3% ($5 minimum) for the first 60 days your account is open, and then the fee goes up to 5% ($5 minimum). After the intro period, the variable APR for purchases and balance transfers rises to 18.74% to 27.49%.

Learn more from reviews of Chase Freedom Flex℠.

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Best for simple cash back

Here’s why: If you prefer straightforward rewards, this card offers the same solid rate on all purchases with a quality APR offer.

You’ll earn 2% cash back on all purchases with this card, which makes it simple to use for those who don’t want to track their spending across bonus categories or multiple cards.

It also offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months after your account opens. Balance transfers come with a fee of 3% for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%; minimum: $5. And transfers must be made within 120 days of account opening to qualify for the intro rate. After the intro period, the variable APR on both purchases and balance transfers goes up to 19.24%, 24.24%, and 29.24%.

Read reviews of the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card for more.

How we picked the best low-interest credit cards

We chose the best low-interest credit cards with a focus on delivering options that either allow you to take maximum advantage of an intro 0% APR or balance a solid intro offer with ongoing rewards value.

All of our selections offer a 0% intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers, and we only selected cards with intro periods that lasted for at least 15 months for both types of APR. With more than a year to manage your credit card balances, these picks are useful tools for keeping track of your finances.

While those most concerned with paying off existing debt can find other cards with longer balance transfer intro periods, we decided not to include those that feature shorter purchase APR intro periods. If you’re looking for more options, consider our picks for the best balance transfer cards and the best 0% APR cards.

We also made sure every card on our list doesn’t charge an annual fee — you probably don’t want to pay that upfront cost when you’re already thinking about how to handle interest payments.

Last, we consciously chose not to select cards that offer the potential to receive an especially low ongoing purchase APR. While a low ongoing APR can be a terrific feature in a credit card, there’s no guarantee the issuer will approve you for the lowest possible APR, even if you have excellent credit.

In the end, we considered it best not to suggest you’re likely to end up on the lower end of a card’s APR range when we don’t know exactly how each issuer will determine your interest rate.

When should you get a low-interest credit card?

There are three main reasons to get a low-interest credit card — to pay off existing debt, to avoid going into debt when making a big purchase, and to gain valuable peace of mind.

Paying off existing debt

A low-interest credit card with a 0% intro APR offer for balance transfers can help you pay off your high-interest debt over the introductory period.

If you transfer your balances from one or several credit cards to the new card with a 0% interest rate, you’ll be able to take more time to pay off your balances without worrying about new interest payments. But balance transfers come with plenty of risks, so make sure to do your research before you get started.

Making a big purchase

If you’re planning to make a big purchase with a credit card, like a major appliance, then a low-interest card with a 0% APR offer on purchases can help you manage that cost over an extended period.

When you make a purchase during the intro period, that balance won’t be charged interest until your 0% purchase APR ends. But keep in mind that you can lose an intro offer if you miss payments, and that making new purchases while also paying off balance transfer debt can lead to complications and even greater interest payments than you might’ve had before you got your new card.

Looking for peace of mind

Sometimes you don’t need a pressing reason to get a low-interest credit card. If you’ve had trouble with interest payments in the past or even just don’t want to worry, these cards can help you stay relaxed.

How do 0% APR offers work?

A 0% APR offer allows you to make new purchases or transfer balances without paying interest during the introductory period.

For instance, if a card offers a 0% APR on purchases for 15 months, then any new purchases you make in that time won’t accrue interest until the offer ends. If the card also offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for those 15 months, then you can transfer balances from other cards to your new card (usually while paying a balance transfer fee) and pay the combined balance without interest until the offer period ends.

These offers can be useful ways to manage debt, but they’re also quite complicated and full of risks. You might end up paying more interest than planned if you can’t pay off your balances by the end of your intro periods. And mismatched offers — where the purchase APR and balance transfer APR last for different lengths of time — could see you stuck accruing interest on your new purchases until you pay off your full transferred balance, even if you still have a 0% APR on balance transfers.

We strongly recommend reading the terms and conditions before applying for any credit card, but it’s especially important for a card with a 0% offer. These cards are tools to help you with your finances, not shortcuts to managing debt.

What are good ways to reduce interest costs?

If you find yourself making large interest payments, there are several ways to help your situation. A 0% intro APR offer on balance transfers can help you get out of debt, and a 0% intro APR offer on purchases can help you pay off balances over time if you’ve had issues with interest in the past.

If you don’t want a new credit card, you could try to lower your credit card interest rate. This method can be challenging because your credit card company has to agree to do it. But if your credit is in good shape and you have a history of on-time payments, it may be a possibility.

You may also consider consolidating credit card debt with a personal loan. Depending on your circumstances, this option might make getting out of debt a more manageable process.