I’m sure you’ve heard about award travel fans who go everywhere using points and miles from their credit cards. But for every one of them, there are plenty who aren’t worried about rewards as much as they are just struggling to pay off their credit card balances. According to the most recent Consumer Financial Literacy Survey from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 39% of all US adults carry a balance on their credit cards. 

If you’re also someone who has a balance on one or more of your credit cards, your top priority should be paying it off. That’s because credit cards have high interest rates, and unlike student loans or a home mortgage, the interest you pay is never tax deductible. The BankAmericard® Credit Card doesn’t offer rewards, but it helps you save on interest by giving you a generous promotional financing offer. 

How this card works

When you open an account with this card, you’ll immediately receive 15 months of interest free financing on both new purchases and balance transfers, with no fee for transfers made during your account’s first 60 days. This an extremely rare offer as nearly all other cards that offer 0% intro APR balance transfers impose a fee of 3% – 5% of the amount transferred. In fact, this card normally has a 3% balance transfer fee after your account is more than 60 days old. 

This means that when you transfer your existing credit card balances to this card, you’ll have a year and three months to make payments that will go 100% towards your balance, without incurring any interest charges. You’ll also be able to make new purchases interest free for the same 15 months. 

Once the promotional rate expires, the standard interest will apply. Other benefits include a free FICO credit score updated each month, and compatibility with most digital wallet standards like Apple Pay®, Android Pay™ and Samsung Pay. There’s no annual fee for this card and no penalty interest rate if you happen to make a late payment. 

How does this card compare to its competitors?

The credit card industry is extremely competitive, and there are plenty of banks and credit unions that offer similar cards. For example, both the Wells Fargo Platinum Card and the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card offer 18 months of 0% intro APR on balance transfers. But the Citi card has a 3% balance transfer fee and the Wells Fargo card is 5%. Yet the BankAmericard has no fee for balance transfers completed within your account’s first 60 days.  This can represent a major savings compared to its competitors. 

One of the only other cards that also has no balance transfer fees is the Chase Slate, which also features 15 months of 0% intro APR financing on both new purchases and balance transfers, and has no fees for transfers completed within 60 days. But after that, it’s balance transfer fee goes to 5%, which is quite high. 

The standard variable APR is a pretty good rate (see terms), but it’s nothing spectacular considering the average rate for credit cards in the US that are assessed interest in 2019, is about 15%, according to the Federal Reserve. 

How you should use this card

The goal of cards like this should be to pay off your balances and avoid ever incurring interest at the standard rate. You should never transfer a balance with an offer like this with the hope that you transfer it to a new card later. Ideally, you should divide your debt by the number of months remaining on your promotional financing offer, and then pay at least that amount. If you look at the end of your promotional financing offer as a finish line for paying off your debt, then you’ll get the most benefit from this card.

Who this card is right for

This is the right card for those who aren’t interested in earning rewards, and just want to pay off their debt. By offering 15 months of interest free financing on both new purchases and balance transfers, with no fee, you’ll avoid all interest charges for over a year. It’s also a card for people with good or excellent credit, since those with credit problems either won’t be approved or will only be approved for an amount that’s too small to be useful. 

And when you consider that nearly all of the similar cards will impose a balance transfer fee of either 3% or 5%, the BankAmericard becomes one of the best choices when you need a credit card with a 0% intro APR  offer to help pay down your debt.