Balance transfer credit cards: 0% offers, fees and the traps to avoid

Balance transfer offers on issuers' own sites (checked 10 October 2026)

These are the balance transfer offers the major issuers were advertising on their own sites when we checked, listed alphabetically. The rate when the offer ends is what any unpaid transfer is charged from then on, and on many cards it's the cash advance rate, which is higher than the purchase rate.

Which balance transfer card is best for you?

The one that clears your debt for the least total cost, which you can judge on four numbers from any offer: the transfer fee, the length of the 0% period, the rate that applies when it ends, and how purchases on the card are treated. A longer period with a 3% fee can beat a shorter one with a 2% fee if it's the difference between clearing the debt and not.

A hypothetical example from the calculator: $6,000 at 21.24% (the RBA's average standard rate, September 2026) and $300 a month. Staying put costs about $1,472 in interest over 25 months. A 12-month 0% offer with a 2% fee costs about $353 in fee and interest, but leaves $2,520 to revert when the offer ends. Paying $510 a month instead clears it within the offer, for the fee alone.

How a balance transfer works

You apply for a new card and ask for some or all of your existing card debt to be moved to it. The new issuer pays out the old card and the debt becomes a balance transfer on your new account. Moneysmart lists the terms to check: the promotional rate (0% or a special low rate), the promotional period (usually 6 to 24 months), a minimum monthly repayment you often must make on time to keep the rate, a maximum transfer amount (for example, a percentage of the new card's limit), and a one-off transfer fee calculated as a percentage of the amount moved.

How long do balance transfer periods last?

Usually 6 to 24 months, according to Moneysmart, and some offers in the table run to 26 months. ASIC's 2024 review of 13 lenders found most offered 12, 18 or 24 month promotional periods, and 85.7% of balance transfers had a promotional rate of 0%.

The length that matters is the one that lets you clear the debt. Divide the balance plus the transfer fee by the months in the offer: that's the monthly repayment to set up as an automatic payment on day one. If you can't afford it, a longer period, or a low rate card without a revert-rate cliff, may suit you better.

The revert rate: what happens when the 0% ends

Whatever is left at the end of the promotional period starts accruing interest at a higher rate. ASIC found that in most cases this is the card's standard purchase rate, but the offers in the table show it's often the cash advance rate instead, so check the key facts sheet for the exact revert rate before you apply. For context, the RBA's average standard credit card rate was 21.24% in September 2026.

Moneysmart also warns that missing a required repayment during the promotional period can cancel the low rate early, and the new rate may be higher than your original card. Under the Banking Code of Practice, banks have had to give 30 days' notice before a balance transfer period ends since 1 July 2019, but don't rely on the reminder: set your own.

What it costs: two worked examples

Hypothetical figures, calculated monthly with the same model as the calculator: you owe $6,000 on a card charging 21.24% (the RBA average standard rate, September 2026), and the new card's offer is 0% for 12 months with a 2% fee, reverting to the same rate.

Spending on the new card: the most common trap

Moneysmart warns that purchases on your balance transfer card usually attract the purchase rate, which is much higher than the transfer rate, and that your repayments may go to the new purchases instead of the transferred balance.

That second point is the law working as designed. The National Consumer Credit Protection Act requires a card issuer to apply your payment first to the closing balance on your last statement, and within that balance to the part charged the highest interest rate first (section 133BQ). With a 0% transfer on the card, your repayments clear the higher-rate purchases before they touch the transfer, so the transfer shrinks more slowly than you might expect.

Interest-free days are the other catch. ASIC found that 4 of the 13 lenders in its review did not give an interest-free period on new purchases while a balance transfer was on the card, so those purchases were charged interest from day one. The simplest fix is to not use the card for spending until the transfer is cleared.

Are balance transfers bad for your credit score?

Applying for the new card is a credit enquiry, and Moneysmart notes that applying for a card or a balance transfer is added to your credit report; several applications in a short time can harm your score. Enquiries stay on your report for five years. The transfer itself isn't a black mark, and paying the debt down on time helps your repayment history. What hurts is repeated applications and rolling debt from card to card. See how credit scores work in Australia.

Credit card debt consolidation: a loan or a balance transfer?

If you owe on more than one card, a balance transfer and a debt consolidation loan both roll the debt into one. A transfer is cheaper if you can clear it inside the 0% period; a personal loan has a fixed term and a fixed end date, so it suits a debt that will take longer than any 0% period to repay. Compare both on total cost, fees included, with our debt consolidation calculator.

Does it work? What ASIC found

ASIC's 2024 credit card review found that 74.2% of consumers who made a balance transfer reduced their total credit card debt, and 52.5% cut it by at least half. But around 11% ended up with over 50% more card debt after the transfer, and many people transferred more than once. Consistent repayments made the difference.

So before you apply: cancel the old card once the balance moves (Moneysmart suggests it, to avoid building new debt), set up an automatic repayment big enough to clear the balance before the period ends, and keep the new card for the transfer only. If you're struggling to make repayments at all, a transfer may not be the right tool; Moneysmart points to free financial counselling on 1800 007 007.