One of the fastest ways of financing is a credit card. Credit cards are issued by banks to their consumers to pay merchants to pay for goods and services. The cardholder, at the end of the month, pays the amount used on the credit card to the bank with the interest payments.
The card issuer, usually a bank, creates a revolving account and grants a credit line to the cardholder. From this line, cardholders can borrow money as a payment to the merchant or as a cash advance.
List Of Top Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Balance transfer credit cards are cards in which the cardholder can transfer the owed amount of one credit card to another new credit card with a lower interest rate. Balance transfer credit cards are quite popular in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- Citi Bank Cashback
- HSBC Bank Middle East
- ADIB Bank
- Emirates Islamic Bank
- Standard Chartered
Balance transfer credit cards have many benefits since the reason why people opt for balance credit cards is that they want to transfer the balance of a high-interest rate credit card to a low-interest rate credit card this way they save more by paying little interest charges. They face no additional charges as well.
Moreover, transfer balance to a low Annual Percentage Rate (APR) helps save the cardholder a lot on the existing debt because some banks offer low or 0% Annual Percentage Rate at the start for few months. Lastly, transferring the balance to a new credit card can help in paying lower charges. If the cardholder doesn’t have a good credit history, then the cardholder should shift to a credit card with better benefits.
There are many banks in the UAE that have started offering balance transfer credit cards. The following are the top banks that offer the balance transfer credit card with less interest.
1. HSBC Bank Middle East
It’s one of the leading and most significant international banks in all of the Middle East. The bank offers the HSBC cashback credit card. It is excellent because it offers you a 10% cashback on all your spending, and there is no minimum spending limit to earn cashback.
The card offers benefits like:
- 3% cashback on supermarket spending in the UAE
- No annual fee for the first year
- 10% cashback on fuel expenditure in the UAE
- Many discounts and benefits
- 1% cashback on all other spendings
The card offers many more benefits. The card offers a rate of 3.25%, minimum salary requirement is AED 5000/ month, and the processing fee is 2%.
2. Citi Bank Cashback
Citi bank of UAE offers the Citi Bank cashback card, which allows you to transfer the balance and earn cashback with a rate of 3.25%. The card requires a minimum salary of AED 8,000 per month. The processing fee is 2.99%.
The card offers the following benefits
- Annual fee waived for the first year
- No minimum spending required to earn cashback.
- 2% cashback on grocery spending, 3% cashback on international spending and currency exchange fee is applicable, and 1% cashback on any other spending.
- 20% discount on selective restaurants
- Complimentary access to more than 850 airport lounges.
3. ADIB Bank
ADIB bank offers a value card, which is Islamic. There is no annual fee on the card, and the rate is 3.09%. The card allows balance transfer, but the balance transfer fee is applicable, and there are no cashback rewards, and the foreign exchange rate is applicable, which is 3.1%.
The card offers the following benefits
- Minimum salary requirement of AED 5,000
- 100% withdrawal of finance as cash
- Rewards on international and local spending.
- Reward points can be redeemed into flight tickets and shopping mall vouchers.
- The bank offers purchase protection and extended warranty.
4. Emirates Islamic Bank
Emirates Islamic bank offers an Islamic flex card. The card offers balance transfer but no cashback. The eligibility criteria of the card are that one should have a minimum salary of AED 5,000/month.
The card is excellent for:
- No annual fee
- No monthly fee
- Travelcard with El Smart Miles with a welcome bonus of 10,000.
- Online shopping or convenient shopping anywhere, anytime with instant purchase feature.
- Miles exchange with frequent flyer programs Etihad Guest and Jet Privilege.
5. Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered bank offers the platinum credit card in which the rate is 3.33%, it offers balance transfer and cashback, the annual fee is AED 525, and the foreign exchange rate is applicable which is 2.99 %
The card is great for
- Minimum salary requirement of AED 5,000.
- Cashback on everyday spending
- Travel benefits that give priority pass for lounge access and 30% off travel, 10% off on hotel rooms, and unlimited and complimentary access to 20 or more airport lounges.
- 20% discounts on careem rides.
- Discounts on holiday packages.
Before selecting a balance transfer card, one should assess his/her needs, credit score as it would decide the eligibility, the person should have an understanding of how the balance transfer credit card works, and, most importantly, research thoroughly before selecting which card to buy.