- Comparison
- Best low interest credit cards by credit card company
- How we picked the best low interest rate credit cards
- Low interest credit card tips
- About the author
- Sources
- User questions & answers
- Expert opinions
Best Low Rate Credit Cards Comparison
Credit Card | Best For | Annual Fee | Intro APR | Regular APR |
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card | Winner | $0 | 0% for 21 months from account opening | 18.24% - 29.99% Variable |
Citi Simplicity® Card | 0% Intro Rate for Balance Transfers | $0 | 0% for 21 months on Balance Transfers | 19.24% - 29.99% (V) |
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card | 0% Intro Rate with Cash Rewards | $0 | 0% for 15 months from account opening | 20.24% - 29.99% Variable |
Discover it® Miles | Low Intro Rate with Travel Rewards | $0 | 0% for 15 months | 17.24% - 28.24% Variable |
CoreFirst Bank & Trust Visa Platinum Card | Low Interest Rate (Ongoing) | $0 | 1.9% for 6 months | 11.75% (V) |
Citi Double Cash® Card | Fair Credit | $0 | 0% for 18 months on Balance Transfers | 19.24% - 29.24% (V) |
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Credit Card | Low Interest for Bad Credit | $48 | Not Offered | 9.99% |
U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card | Business | $0 | 0% for 18 billing cycles | 17.24% - 26.24% (V) |
Best Low Interest Credit Cards by Credit Card Company
American Express
The best low interest credit card from American Express is Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. Amex Blue Cash Everyday also has a $0 annual fee and good rewards.
This card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 19.24% to 29.99% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and there’s a balance transfer fee of 3% (min $5). Applicants need at least good credit to qualify.
Bank of America
The BankAmericard® credit card is the best low interest credit card from Bank of America because it offers a 0% introductory APR for 18 billing cycles. The BankAmericard credit card also has a $0 annual fee.
The card’s regular APR could be 16.24% to 26.24% Variable, depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply. You will need excellent credit to qualify.
Capital One
The best low interest credit card from Capital One is the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (see Rates & Fees) because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months for purchases and balance transfers. Capital One SavorOne also has a $0 annual fee and rewards cardholders with 1 - 8% cash back on purchases.
The card’s regular APR is 19.99% to 29.99% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and there’s a balance transfer fee of 3% for the first 15 months, 4% at a promo APR that Capital One may offer you at any other time. You will need at least good credit to qualify.
Chase
The best low interest credit card from Chase is Chase Freedom Unlimited® because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months for purchases and balance transfers. The Chase Freedom Unlimited card also has a $0 annual fee.
The card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 20.49% to 29.24% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and you need at least good credit to qualify. There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater in the first 60 days (5%, min $5 after).
Citibank
The best low interest credit card from Citibank is the Citi Custom Cash® Card because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months for purchases and balance transfers. Citi Custom Cash also has a $0 annual fee and rewards cardholders with 1 - 5% cash back on purchases.
The card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 19.24% to 29.24% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and there is a balance transfer fee of 5% (min $5). You will need at least fair credit to qualify for an account.
Discover
The best low interest credit card from Discover is Discover it® Cash Back because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months for purchases and balance transfers. Discover it Cash Back also has a $0 annual fee and rewards cardholders with 1 - 5% cash back on purchases.
The card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 17.24% to 28.24% Variable, depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and you need at least good credit to qualify. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*.
Mastercard
The best low interest credit card from Mastercard is the Citi Simplicity® Card because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 21 months on balance transfers and 0% for 12 months on purchases. Citi Simplicity Card also has a $0 annual fee.
The card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 19.24% to 29.99% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply. Applicants need at least good credit to qualify.
U.S. Bank
The best low interest credit card from U. S. Bank is the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 18 billing cycles for purchases and balance transfers. U.S. Bank Platinum also has a $0 annual fee.
The card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 18.74% to 29.74% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and you need at least good credit to qualify. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 60 days, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer*.
Visa
The best low interest credit card from Visa is the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 21 months from account opening, applicable to both purchases and qualifying balance transfers. That’s the longest 0% intro period available right now, and you won’t even have to pay an annual fee to get it.
Just bear in mind that the card has a balance transfer fee of 5% (min $5). It has a high regular APR, too. Both are unfortunately common among the best 0% credit cards. It’s also worth pointing out that Visa is the card network Wells Fargo Reflect belongs to, not its issuer. Most importantly, that means you can use this card anywhere that takes credit cards.
Wells Fargo
The best low interest credit card from Wells Fargo is the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card because it offers an introductory APR of 0% for 21 months from account opening for purchases and qualifying balance transfers. Wells Fargo Reflect also has a $0 annual fee.
The card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 18.24% to 29.99% Variable, depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply, and you will need at least good credit to qualify. There is a balance transfer fee of 5% (min $5).
Methodology for Selecting the Best Low Interest Credit Cards
To identify the best credit cards with low interest rates, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare 1,500+ credit card offers based on their introductory purchase APRs, regular APRs, relevant fees and other WalletHub Rating components. This enables us to estimate the two-year cost of using each card to finance purchases or balance transfers. Features such as rewards are used as a tiebreaker.
How Two-Year Cost Is Calculated
Two-year cost is used to approximate the monetary value of cards for better comparison and is calculated by combining annual and monthly membership fees over two years, adding any one-time fees or other fees (like balance transfer fees), adding any interest costs, and subtracting rewards. Negative amounts indicate savings. When fees or other terms are presented as a range, we use the midpoint for scoring purposes.
Rewards bonuses and credits have been taken into account for two-year cost calculations. However, bonuses applicable to only a very small portion of cardholders are not considered. For example, credits and bonuses awarded for spending or redeeming rewards through a company portal with non-co-branded cards have not been taken into account. Similarly, bonuses and credits related to spending with specific merchants using a non-co-branded card have not been taken into account (for example, if Card A offers credits with DoorDash, this feature would not be factored into calculations because it is hard to assess how many cardholders would use the benefit or exactly how much value they'd get from it).
Cardholder Spending Profiles
Given that different users have different goals and are likely to use their credit cards differently, we identified spending profiles that are representative of different users’ financial priorities and behaviors. For each cardholder type, we have assumed a specific amount of monthly spending by purchase type (e.g., groceries, gas, etc.), as well as an average balance, balance transfer amount, amount spent on large purchases and average monthly payment. Spending assumptions are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data and PEX data for businesses.
Best Low Interest Credit Card Tips
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Make a Plan to Pay Off What You Owe.
Whenever you carry a balance from month to month, make sure to do so with a purpose (and a credit card calculator). In other words, have a good reason for getting into debt and a plan for repaying what you borrow.
For example, using a 0% credit card for a big-ticket purchase and paying off your balance before regular rates take effect is a great approach. Racking up expensive interest charges simply because you’re spending more than you can afford is not.
Knowing how long it will take to pay off your balance can also make it easier to find the right credit card. You might be able to wipe out your debt during a 0% credit card’s introductory period, in which case a low regular APR would be less important.
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The Lowest Regular APR Isn’t Always Best.
It’s important to note that the best low interest rate credit cards don’t necessarily have the absolute lowest regular APRs. Rather, they combine a very low introductory or regular APR with other attractive terms, such as no annual fee or lenient approval requirements. The exact features you’ll want to seek out in addition to a low APR ultimately depend on the types of transactions you plan to make.
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Consider Your Credit Score.
Your credit score will affect the interest rate you are offered on a credit card. The better your credit score is, the more likely you are to qualify for a card with a low interest rate or a long 0% introductory APR promotion. You can check your latest credit score for free right here on WalletHub and then compare credit card offers with low interest rates for people in your credit range.
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Secured Cards Aren’t Good for Financing Despite Often Having Low Rates.
The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card is one of the best low interest credit cards for bad credit. It has a regular APR of 15.24% (V), but there isn’t much point in carrying a balance on a secured card since you have to pre-pay for your purchases with a security deposit.
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Be Careful With Deferred Interest.
One of the best low rate credit cards for fair credit is the Amazon Store Card. It offers an introductory APR of 0% for 6 - 24 months on select purchases. But the offer includes a feature called deferred interest that can make the transaction a lot more expensive than you’d planned for if you don’t repay your balance on schedule.
With deferred interest, not paying off your full balance on time could result in you owing interest retroactively from the purchase date at the card’s high regular APR. If you decide to take advantage of a deferred interest offer because your other options don’t even give you the chance of saving money, make sure to use a credit card payoff calculator to create a plan to bring your balance to $0 in time.
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Remember That Credit Card Rates Rise & Fall Over Time.
To get a sense of how low current credit card APRs really are in historical terms, check out WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. You will find average credit card rates by quarter for the entire market as well as for people with excellent credit, good credit, etc.