Citi Simplicity Card benefits guide

Citi is an advertising partner.

If you need to pay down high-interest debt, good news — the Citi Simplicity® Card* offers a long 0 percent intro APR offer for 21 months on balance transfers made within the first four months from account opening. As an added bonus, you also get a 0 percent intro APR on purchases within 12 months of account opening (19.24 percent to 29.99 percent variable APR thereafter for both). Although there aren’t any rewards or enhanced benefits to speak of, the card is light on fees — no annual fee, late fees or penalty rates.

We break down the key perks offered by Citi Simplicity so that you can see how well it might work for you.

Citi Simplicity Card benefits

The first thing you might notice is that the Citi Simplicity Card is relatively low on bells and whistles, but don’t let the lack of rewards and benefits deter you. Depending on how much debt you stand to pay off with this balance transfer card, it could be worthwhile to hold.

0% intro APR offers

The Citi Simplicity has two strong introductory APR offers — one for balance transfers and one for purchases.

Balance transfers

First and foremost, the Citi Simplicity offers an exceptionally long 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers completed within the first four months — you’ll get a full 21 months to pay off your debt, interest-free (followed by a variable APR of 19.24 percent to 29.99 percent). The Citi Simplicity also has an introductory balance transfer fee of 3 percent with a $5 minimum for all balance transfers placed within that four-month window. After that, the fee rises to 5 percent.

Compared to other balance transfer cards on the market, this is one of the longest 0 percent intro APR periods available — but it’s not the only Citi card with an intro offer this long. The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card* also comes with a 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months, but it’s followed by a variable APR of 18.24 percent to 28.99 percent. It also has a 5 percent balance transfer fee as opposed to a 3 percent fee.

So, the Citi Simplicity offers a lower balance transfer fee but a slightly higher variable APR than the Diamond Preferred. If you’re confident that you can pay off your debt within the 21-month timeframe, then the Citi Simplicity’s 3 percent fee can save you a bit of money when compared to the Diamond Preferred.

Purchases

The Citi Simplicity also offers a 0 percent intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, followed by a 19.24 percent to 29.99 percent variable APR. This offer can help you pay down a large purchase like a new home appliance or couch interest-free.

Liability protection

Like many credit cards, you’ll enjoy fraud protection, meaning you won’t be responsible for unauthorized charges made to your account. Simply contact Citi once you notice these unauthorized charges, and work with the representative to get the issues resolved. Since this benefit comes through the Mastercard network, you’re also able to report unauthorized charges through the Mastercard app for a faster response.

Account activity alerts

With the Citi Simplicity Card, you receive automatic alerts for updates made to your account. You can set alerts for withdrawals, password changes, balance transfers and payments.

Identity theft protection

A few features can help protect both your Citi credit card account and your identity in general. Citi’s Fraud Early Warning feature informs you of any suspicious activity on your account and contacts you by text, email, phone or mail to confirm account activity or raise concerns with you.

Another plus is that, if you’re a victim of identity theft, you’ll receive free support from Citi as a Citi cardholder — even if the fraud occurred on a product from another company.

Low on fees

Aside from the lengthy 0 percent intro APR offers, another main benefit of the Citi Simplicity is its lack of fees. There’s no annual fee and no late fees — and if you make a late payment, there’s no penalty APR.

The card does have an introductory balance transfer fee of 3 percent for the first 4 months of account opening, followed by a 5 percent fee — but having this sort of fee is pretty standard for balance transfer cards.

Maximizing the Citi Simplicity’s benefits

The best way to fully maximize the Citi Simplicity Card is to transfer your balances as soon as possible. Balance transfers must be made within the first four months of holding the card in order to receive the 0 percent intro APR offer — otherwise, you’re stuck with the standard 19.24 percent to 29.99 percent variable APR. If you’re planning on making a large purchase that you can pay down over time, the same advice applies. The earlier you make your purchase, the longer you’ll have to pay it off.

Further, before applying, be sure that you’re OK with the long-term value the Citi Simplicity has to offer. If you can get away with an 18- or 15-month introductory term, there are plenty of other rewards cards out there with shorter introductory terms that might offer more value in the long run.

For example, the Citi Double Cash® Card offers both rewards — 1 percent cash back as you buy and an additional 1 percent back as you pay for your purchase — and a 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months (followed by a 19.24 percent to 29.24 percent variable APR).

The bottom line

The Citi Simplicity Card is extremely light on benefits and perks, but it could be worthwhile for someone who needs a longer period of time to pay down high-interest debt. All in all, be sure to review all the options available to you, including our list of the best balance transfer credit cards, before you apply.

*Information about the Citi Simplicity® Card and the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. Card details have not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.