Citi Simplicity® Card Review 2022: A Worthy Balance Transfer Card

If you are in credit card debt and are looking for relief from mounting interest charges, you may want to consider a balance transfer with the card_name.

Citi touts “no” as the theme of this card, as in no annual fees, no penalty rates and no late fees.

But is this balance transfer card right for you? Team Clark decided to take a deeper dive into the details, explore the math behind the balance transfers and compare the perks to the popular Citi Double Cash® Card.

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Table of Contents

• What Is the Citi Simplicity Card?
• Card Specs and Perks
• Balance Transfer Savings Chart
• Citi Simplicity vs. Citi Double Cash
• Final Thoughts

Team Clark has spent time evaluating the credit card market for the best options for balance transfers and 0% APR introductory periods. The Citi Simplicity Card is one of the options we evaluated in those categories. We’ve determined that it’s a viable choice for those seeking a 0% APR period on both balance transfers and new purchases. The length of its introductory rates and lack of an annual fee, penalty rates and late fees make it an attractive option.

As you’re making your decision on whether the Citi Simplicity Card is a fit for you, please use Team Clark’s review of the card in conjunction with money expert Clark Howard’s 7 Rules for Using Credit Cards.

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What Is the Citi Simplicity® Card?

The Citi Simplicity Card is a balance transfer credit card known for its long introductory APR period for balance transfers. It also has an introductory APR period for new purchases.

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Citi Simplicity® Card: Specs and Perks

Before we get too far into whether or not this credit card is the right choice for you, let’s take a look at some of the perks and drawbacks of the card from the fine print.

Bonuses and Perks

Introductory Balance Transfer APR Period: The Citi Simplicity^® Card credit card offers 0% intro APR for 21 months on Balance Transfer. Afterwards, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% – 29.99%, based on creditworthiness. You must make your balance transfer within the first four months of card membership to receive the 0% rate, and you’re subject to a 5% fee (minimum $5) on the total amount transferred.

Introductory New Purchase APR Period: The Citi Simplicity^® Card credit card offers 0% for 12 months on Purchases. Afterwards, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% – 29.99%, based on creditworthiness.

No Late Fees or Penalty Rates: One of the biggest marketing points for this card is that Citi does not charge late fee or penalty rates if you miss a payment due date. This is nice, especially if your budget is tight and having an extra few days to get to payday makes the difference. But if you dig beneath the surface a little, you’ll find that you still owe interest on late payments and that you’ll still get dinged on your credit report if you are too late with your payment.

Cardholder Benefits

• $0 Fraud Liability: You will not be responsible for unauthorized charges on this card.
• Free Credit Score: You will receive access to updates and historical trends for your FICO score via your Citi card account.
• Identity Theft Assistance: Citi will work with TransUnion to help you repair your credit if your personal information is stolen.

Cardholder Fees

• Annual Fee: None
• Balance Transfer Fee: 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).
• Cash Advance Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the total cash advance, whichever is greater
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of a foreign purchase
• Late Payment Fee: There is no late payment fee. However, there is a returned payment fee of up to $41.

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Can a Balance Transfer With the Citi Simplicity® Card Save You Money?

Why Would You Transfer A Balance?

First, let’s understand why you’d want a balance transfer credit card in the first place.

A credit card balance transfer is when you take the balance owed on one credit card and move it over to the balance owed on a different credit card. This is a move that is ideal for people who are carrying a large amount of credit card debt at a less-than-ideal APR interest rate.

For example: If you are paying more than 20% APR on a balance on your existing credit card, the Citi Simplicity Card would be a solution for relief from interest charges due to its introductory 0% APR for 21 months.

How Much Money Could a Balance Transfer Save?

This depends on a couple of factors: How much money do you owe? And what APR is your interest on the existing card?

Once you have those numbers, you’ll be able to assess whether the transfer fee you’ll be charged by Citi is worth the 21-month respite you’ll get from interest charges.

While your opportunity for savings is going to be very specific to your personal credit card balance situation, I’ve put a chart together to illustrate how the Citi Simplicity balance transfer offer could impact a standard card holder.

For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going to make some assumptions:

• We’ll use 16.14% as the theoretical APR for the card holding a balance. This was the national average APR at the time we calculated numbers for this comparison.
• We’re going to assume that 21 months is the target payoff time frame for the debt. That’s the maximum period you could carry the balance on the Citi Simplicity Card without paying interest.
• We will use Experian’s handy credit card calculator to crunch the numbers on our fictitious 16.14% APR credit card balance. We will not make adjustments for any card-specific minimum payment requirements.
• Totals will be rounded to the nearest dollar.
• Option A will be the total amount required to pay the balance off in 21 months if you keep your balance on the current card.
• Option B will be the total amount required to pay the balance off in 21 months with Citi Simplicity’s 0% APR after paying the transfer fee (5%, minimum of $5).

Credit Card Balance	Option A: Keep Balance with Average APR Card	Option B: Transfer Balance to Citi Simplicity
$250	$289	$263
$500	$577	$525
$750	$866	$788
$1,000	$1,155	$1,050
$1,500	$1,732	$1,575
$2,000	$2,309	$2,100
$3,000	$3,464	$3,150
$5,000	$5,773	$5,250
$10,000	$11,545	$10,500

This chart illustrates that the more money you owe, the more switching to Citi Simplicity can help. You’ll save more than $1,000 in interest charges on a $10,000 balance transfer if you pay everything off before the introductory rate expires.

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Citi Simplicity® vs. Citi Double Cash®: How Does It Stack Up?

The Citi Double Cash card is one of Clark Howard’s favorite credit cards because of its cash back rewards program, but it also has a strong introductory APR offer that makes it worth considering as a balance transfer card.

The Double Cash card offers 18 months of 0% APR on balance transfers made within the first four months of card membership (afterwards, the variable will be 19.24% – 29.24% based on creditworthiness). That’s three months short of the 21 months you’d get from the Simplicity card.

But what may be surprising is that Double Cash actually has a better balance transfer fee. The Double Cash only requires a 3% fee on the transferred balance (minimum $5), while the Simplicity card charges a significantly higher 5% (minimum $5) for its transfer fee.

Generally, if you are in the market for a balance transfer card, it is likely that you already have a substantial amount of credit card debt. Team Clark would encourage you to shy away from making any new purchases until that debt is cleared.

But if you do want to look down the road a little at new purchases, there are some more things to consider when comparing the two.

The Citi Double Cash pays up to 2% cash back on every purchase you make with it (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.). The Simplicity card carries no cash back or points rewards. However, Simplicity does have the Double Cash beat with its introductory 0% APR on new purchases for a full year. Double Cash does not have an introductory APR for new purchases.

If you’re trying to decide which Citi card is the right choice for you, here’s a quick rundown of some of the key features to help you decide.

Card Characteristic	Citi Simplicity	Citi Double Cash
Introductory Period for 0% APR on Balance Transfers	21 months	18 months
Balance Transfer Fee	5% of balance amount (minimum: fee $5)	3% of balance amount (minimum fee: $5)
Introductory Period for 0% APR on New Purchases	12 months	None
Cash Back Rewards	None	Up to 2% on all purchases
Annual Fee	$0	$0

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Final Thoughts

Are you considering adding the card_name to your wallet? Let’s review some of the pros and cons of the card before you make your final decision.

Citi Simplicity® Card: Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
0% APR on balance transfers for 21 months	Only a four-month window for 0% balance transfers
0% APR on new purchases for 12 months	No rewards or cash back program
No annual fees, late fees or penalty rates	Balance transfers fees apply

Bottom Line: If you have an existing credit card balance that is damaging your finances with an exorbitant interest rate, taking advantage of the 21 months worth of 0% APR the Citi Simplicity Card offers on balance transfers could be a real game changer for your payoff plan.

However, you must first do the math to see if the transfer is worth paying that 5% transfer fee on the balance. Based on the exercise we did earlier in the article, there’s a good chance this card works out in your favor if you pay near or more than the national average in APR.

Finally, if you’re looking for a credit card that serves as an everyday spender, you’re likely better served by applying for a cash back credit card that could give you some perks with your purchases.

Do you have experience with the Citi Simplicity Card? Let us know how you like it in the Clark.com community!