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.
Balance Transfer Credit Cards in UAE
- HSBC Bank Middle East
- Citi Bank Cashback
- ADIB Bank
- Emirates Islamic Bank
- Standard Chartered
- First Abu Dhabi Bank GEMS Titanium Credit Card
- Emirates Islamic Flex Card
- ADCB Etihad Guest Above Gold Card
- Standard Chartered Saadiq Platinum Card
- ADIB Etisalat Classic Card
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).
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 a lot of banks in the UAE, which has 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 largest international banks in all of the Middle East. The bank offers the HSBC cashback credit card. It is great 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 great 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 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.
6- First Abu Dhabi Bank GEMS Titanium Credit Card
The card offers balance transfer and cashback facilities. The card is great for Discounts on Cinema tickets, and it offers an Education card with which you can save up to 4.25% fixed rate discount on GEMS school fees. The card charges a profit rate of 3.25%, and it charges no annual fee, but the foreign exchange rate is applicable at the rate of 2.05%. The minimum salary requirement is AED 5,000.
The card comes with these benefits
- 0% Easy payment plan for 12 months
- Child Education protection for up to 10 years or AED 2 million for four children
- SMS alerts on every spend
- Airport Lounge access in Dubai, Kuwait, Cairo, Jeddah, and Riyadh
- Facilities such as emergency roadside assistance, free purchase protection, credit shield plus
- Watch movies starting from AED 10 at Reel Cinema, Cine Royal and Oscar Cinema
- Protect your possessions with flexible home contents insurance starting from just AED 25 per month
- Enjoy complimentary Meet and Greet services at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports
- Drive away with two complimentary airport transfers per the calendar year
- Minimum payment of 5% or AED 100 whichever is higher
- The foreign currency rate applicable on overseas transactions is 2.05% + scheme charges
- Earn 1.75 First Stars for every AED 1 of international spend and 1 First Star for every AED 1 of domestic spend. Redeem First Stars for Skyward Miles, Etihad Guest Miles, First Stars Card, Fly Dubai E-voucher, and tickets for any airline at First Stars Travel portal.
- First Stars can be redeemed for Etihad Guest Miles (8 First Stars = 1 Etihad Guest Mile), Skywards Miles from Emirates (10 First Stars = 1 Skywards Mile), fly Dubai e-vouchers (10,000 First Stars = AED 100 voucher) or book tickets on any airline through First Stars Travel Portal. First Stars can also be redeemed for the First Stars Card (20,000 First Stars = AED 100 load on First Stars Card), which can be used at any merchant across the world.
- Receive cashback in the form of First Stars Card. 20,000 Stars are equivalent to AED 100.
- Transfer balance at a starting rate of 0.79% flat per month.
7- Emirates Islamic Flex Card
Emirates bank offers a flex card, which comes with a lot of benefits. The card offers a balance transfer facility but no cashback facilities. The bank charges no annual or monthly fee. The rate charged is 2.35%, and the foreign exchange rate is 2.34%. The minimum salary requirement is AED 5,000.
The card is great for Unlimited Complimentary Golf, Low minimum salary requirement, and Travelcard with EI Smart Miles.
The card offers the following features;
- Welcome bonus of 10,000 EI Smart Miles
- Instant EI Smart Miles redemption at over 300 airlines and more than 180,000 hotels worldwide
- Convenient shopping anytime, anywhere with “Instant Purchase” redemption feature
- Miles exchange with frequent flyer programs Etihad Guest and Jet Privilege
- Online shopping marketplace.
- This is an Islamic card
- There is a repayment period of 55 days, and the minimum payment for each month is 5% of the outstanding amount.
- The foreign currency rate applicable to overseas transactions is 2.34%. This fee is charged in addition to the standard processing fee (approximately 1.15%) charged by MasterCard International or Visa International and applies to transactions performed outside the UAE.
- Earn EI Smart Miles on all your domestic and international spends.
- For every AED 1 spent locally, earn 1.25 EI Smart Miles. For every AED 1 spent internationally, earn 2.25 EI Smart Miles. Redeem at over 300 airlines and 180,000 hotels, car rentals. EI Smart Miles can be exchanged for frequent flyer programs such as Etihad Guest and Jet Privilege. You can also use your EI Smart Miles to shop with the ‘Instant Purchase’ feature.
- The balance transfer facility is available at 0% for six months, with a 2% processing fee. There is a 5% minimum payment required every month.
- No cashback is rewarded for this card.
8- ADCB Etihad Guest Above Gold Card
The card offers a balance transfer facility but no cashback facilities. The bank charges no annual or monthly fee. The rate charged is 3.25%, and the foreign exchange rate is 2.99%. The minimum salary requirement is AED 5,000.
The card is great for Earning Etihad guest miles on all purchases, and there is no annual fee on this card.
The card offers the following privileges;
- No Annual Fees on this card
- Utility bill payment
- Personal payment plan
- Balance transfer available
- Various discounts & benefits to Yas Water World and Ferrari World
- Complete control of your account through ADCB mobile app
- Optional enrollment to Credit Shield with a nominal monthly fee.
- 25 days of interest-free period and a minimum payment of 5% or 100 AED whichever is higher
- Earn 0.75 Guest Miles for every USD 1 spent locally. Purchases in the category of Supermarkets, Government Services, Utilities, and Education will earn 0.33 Etihad Guest Miles per USD.
- Balance Transfer fee up to 1.5% per month
- No cashback is rewarded for this card
9- Standard Chartered Saadiq Platinum Card
The card offers a balance transfer facility but no cashback facilities. The bank charges an annual fee of AED 315. The rate charged is 3.25%, and the foreign exchange rate is 2.99%. The minimum salary requirement is AED 5,000. The card is great for a travel pass to airport lounges.
The card offers the following features;
- Complimentary access to airport lounges
- MasterCard Moments Luxurious Lifestyle benefits
- Buy one get one free offer and discounts of up to 50% across dining, travel, and entertainment
- Three 20% discounted rides per month on Careem
- Sharia Committee Approved
- 30% of travel with Cleartrip.com
- This is an Islamic card
- The minimum payment is 1% of the principal balance plus all charges or AED 110, whichever is higher.
- There is no annual fee applicable to this card for the first year. Second-year onwards a fee of AED 315 will be applicable
- No reward program is available on this card
- No rewards program on this card
- Balance transfer 3% rate monthly with 2% – 4% or AED 262.5 early settlement fee whichever is higher applies. 4.2% Processing Fees
- No cashback is rewarded for this card
10- ADIB Etisalat Classic Card
The card offers a balance transfer facility but no cashback facilities. The bank charges no annual fee. The rate charged is 2.99%, and the foreign exchange rate is 3.1%. The minimum salary requirement is AED 5,000. The card is great for free talk time by earning Etisalat Reward points for retail spend, and there is no annual fee on this card.
The card comes with the following features;
- Get 5,000 sign up Etisalat Reward points equivalent to more than 2.5 hours of UAE talk time
- Get 1.5 Etisalat Reward points for every dirham spent on the card
- You can redeem your Etisalat Reward points for payment of your Etisalat services
- Get Etisalat My Package Plan for more points
- This is an Islamic Card
- Free grace period up to 55 days to repay your outstanding balance. The profit rate starts from 2.99% with a salary transfer and goes up to 3.09%.
- There is no annual fee on this card
- Get 1.5 points for every AED 1 spent up to a maximum of 600,000 points per month. And for every AED 100 spent, you get 5 minutes worth of free talk time from Etisalat when redeemed. Also, get 5000 welcome points when you apply for the card.
- No miles program on this card
- A Balance transfer fee of up to 3% or AED 200 will apply; No profit up to 12 months. T&Cs applies
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.