Citi Simplicity^® Card Review [2024]: The Perfect Balance Transfer Card?

Card basics

Who should get the Citi Simplicity Card?

You should get this card if you have credit card or other loan debt (other than federal student loans) that you want to pay down or, ideally, off. You also shouldn’t have this debt with Citi. Issuers generally won’t let you transfer debt that’s already with them to a balance transfer card that’s also with them. So if you're in debt on a Citi card, you can’t transfer it to the Citi Simplicity card.

In a perfect world, you would have a plan to pay off the credit card debt you transfer to the Citi Simplicity Card by the end of the introductory period. But even if you can’t, having the time will provide you with some breathing room, and there’s a lot to be said for that as well.

It’s also a good fit if you need a card that’s forgiving. When I started my credit card journey, I struggled to stay on top of my payments at times and dealt with late fees and penalty APRs that just increased my overall debt. This card doesn’t charge late fees or have a penalty APR. Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t pay your bill on time, but sometimes life happens, and this card allows for that.

Who shouldn’t get this card?

Obviously, this is a balance transfer card, so if you don’t have a balance transfer to make, I’d steer clear of this one.

If you’re looking for a longer 0% intro period for purchases, I’d also go with a different card. In this case, I’d go with the Wells Fargo Reflect^® Card. It has a 0% introductory balance transfer APR for 21 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers (then 18.24%, 24.74%, or 29.99% Variable) with a balance transfer fee of 5%, min: $5 and a 0% introductory APR on purchases for 21 months from account opening (then 18.24%, 24.74%, or 29.99% Variable). This is significantly longer than the purchase APR offer on the Citi Simplicity Card.

The Citi Simplicity also isn’t a card for earning rewards. That’s not a good or bad thing — it’s just typical for cards with especially long intro APRs.

If rewards are important and you don’t mind a shorter intro APR period, consider the Citi Double Cash^® Card. It offers a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months (then a 0% APR).

More importantly, it offers 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.

And it has a welcome offer where you can earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

In fact, a good long-term strategy would be to transfer your balance with the Citi Simplicity, pay down your debt with that, then apply for the Citi Double Cash to enter your new era of earning credit card rewards with responsible credit card use. I’ve used a similar strategy to slowly improve my credit over time and learn to take advantage of credit card rewards, and it’s been successful. It just (annoyingly) takes time.

Other benefits and perks

• Flexible payment due date: You can set a due date that’s good for you. It’s another reason why this is a good card if you’re trying to budget and stay on top of your debt payments.
• Citi Entertainment: Citi has a really good program that lets you into presales or lets you buy better seats. For example, for one concert I was buying tickets for, the aisle seats were exclusively on presale through Citi.
• Identity theft protection: This program is offered by Mastercard, and offers pretty robust coverage, especially for free. One important note is that it’s identity theft protection, but not identity theft insurance. Protection identifies issues and provides guidance, but insurance provides funding to help with financial losses. That said, the more protection you have from identity theft, the better. Especially when it’s free.

Citi Simplicity vs. Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card

The Citi Simplicity isn’t the only balance transfer card in Citi’s line-up. There’s also the Citi^® Diamond Preferred^® Card, and honestly, it’s very similar to the Citi Simplicity. I’d pick the Simplicity over the Diamond Preferred, though.

Why? No late fees and a lower initial balance transfer fee.

Here’s how they stack up:

	Citi Simplicity® Card 4.5 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card 4.4 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Annual fee	$0	$0
Intro APR	0% introductory APR on purchases for 12 months, then 19.24% - 29.99% (Variable) 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 21 months, then 19.24% - 29.99% (Variable)	0% introductory APR on purchases for 12 months, then 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable) 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 21 months, then 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable)
Balance transfer fee	3% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum) within 4 months of account opening; then 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) after the 4 month intro period ends	5% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum)
Late fee	None	See Terms
Foreign transaction fee	3%	3%

For a more nuts and bolts comparison of the two cards, check out our Citi Simplicity vs Citi Diamond Preferred comparison.

FAQ

Bottom line

The Citi Simplicity^® Card(Rates and fees) is an excellent card for anyone who wants to pay down existing debt. It has one of the longest intro APR offers on balance transfers, which gives you plenty of time to work on the balance you move to this card.

As a $0-annual-fee card that charges no late fees, the Citi Simplicity is a straightforward card that’s easy to keep in your pocket.

No annual fee & 0% Intro APR

Citi Simplicity^® Card

4.5

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Citi Simplicity^® Card

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Rates and fees

Current Offer

Long introductory APR period on balance transfers

Annual Fee

$0

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• $0 annual fee.
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then 19.24% - 29.99% (Variable) APR
• Includes access to Citi Entertainment, which offers exclusive presales.

Drawbacks

• Foreign transaction fee of 3%.
• No rewards program, but that’s common for balance transfer cards.
• No welcome offer, but again, that’s normal for this type of card.

Card Details

• No Late Fees, No Penalty Rate, and No Annual Fee... Ever
• 0% Intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers from date of first transfer and 0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases from date of account opening. After that the variable APR will be 19.24% - 29.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening.
• There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
• Stay protected with Citi® Quick Lock