Citi Diamond Preferred Review for 2024: Great 0% APR Card (2024)

Pros

• 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases
• 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers
• $0 annual fee

Cons

• 5% (min $5) balance transfer fee
• Foreign transaction fee
• High regular APR
• No rewards

Citi Diamond Preferred Review Summary

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is one of 2024’s top-tier 0% APR credit card offers, thanks to introductory rates of 0% for 21 months on balance transfers and 0% for 12 months on purchases. The average balance transfer card offers a 0% APR for just 13 months. Plus, Citi Diamond Preferred has a $0 annual fee.

The bad news is Citi Diamond Preferred’s balance transfer fee: 5% (min $5). The card also has a high regular APR and does not reward users for making purchases on an ongoing basis. In addition, it’s worth pointing out that if you want to enjoy the Diamond Preferred Card’s 0% intro balance transfer APR, you’ll have to do the transfer within four months of opening an account.

Citi Diamond Preferred Highlights

0% Intro APRs

Diamond Preferred offers an introductory APR of 0% for 21 months on balance transfers completed in first 4 months. It also gives 0% for 12 months on new purchases. So if you already have a bit of debt and foresee more in your immediate future, you could use this card to both consolidate and save.

$0 Annual Fee

Your mission is to save money, not just avoid interest charges. So the fact that this card does not charge an annual fee is quite important. It not only allows you to minimize expenses, but it also makes budgeting easier, as you won’t have to inquire about when your annual fee will be assessed.

Citi Diamond Preferred Lowlights

Balance Transfer Fee

Let’s say that you, like the average householder, have roughly $8,590 in debt. This 5% (min $5) balance transfer fee would equate to about $430, which is enough to warrant exploring the viability of offers that have shorter 0% introductory periods yet lower fixed costs.

Potential for an Above-Average Regular APR

The average credit card for people with excellent credit has a regular APR of 18.2%, while credit cards for people with good credit charge an average of 24.36%. The Citi® Diamond Preferred® charges 18.24% - 28.99% (V). Considering that the lower end of that range is usually reserved for people with excellent credit, you’re probably going to receive an above-average regular APR.

3% Foreign Transaction Fee

If you were planning to open this card to pay for a lavish international getaway, or even to make a significant purchase from a foreign-based merchant, don’t. There are far too many no foreign transaction fee credit cards available to warrant forking over an extra 3% of whatever you charge, in most cases.

Other Things To Consider About the Citi Diamond Preferred

24/7 Concierge Service

One of this card’s preferred elements is that it provides access to a “personalized concierge service” that is available around the clock, according to Citi’s website. Citi doesn’t offer much information about this feature online, other than it can help cardholders make travel arrangements, buy tickets to events and set up restaurant reservations, but having extra resources can’t hurt – especially when they’re free.

Citi Entertainment

Citi credit and debit cardholders have the chance to attend exclusive concerts and events as well as take advantage of special ticket opportunities for events open to the general public through Citi Entertainment. This obviously isn’t a perk unique to Diamond Preferred itself, and you shouldn’t use the availability of such offers as an excuse to overspend. But it could make being a cardholder more enjoyable.

No Card Rewards

If your main objective is to save money on debt, whether current or upcoming, this card’s lack of rewards shouldn’t be too much of a concern. Sure, rewards could help reduce the cost of your spending to a certain extent, but it won’t be anywhere near the amount you could expect to lose due to a higher interest rate. So when comparing your options, focus on fees and interest while considering rewards to be icing on the cake.

Citi Easy Deals

Citi credit card users whose accounts are in good standing can enroll in Citi Easy Deals, which offers savings on items purchased from citieasydeals.com. Easy Deals is a tiered system, which means discounts are based on the amount of money the cardholder spends in a year. There is no spending requirement for the base tier of Citi Easy Deals, however. It provides local offers, such as discounts at nearby restaurants.

Citi Diamond Preferred vs. the Competition

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card Review Methodology

This Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.

The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.

Ratings for each category reflect how close Citi Diamond Preferred is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Citi Diamond Preferred to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.

To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.

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Important Disclosures