Review: Citi Diamond Preferred Card

This review was written by Logan Abbott. Logan is the editor of the credit cards section of MyRatePlan.com.

The smartest way to handle credit cards is to pay them in full every month. But if you can’t, or hit a temporary bump in the road, at least try to minimize the interest you pay.

There’s no rate lower than zero.

The Citi Diamond Preferred Card offers the longest 0 percent intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers of any credit card I’m currently aware of.

Advantages

• Zero percent intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 18 months. Cardholders get a 0 percent intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 18 months. While some credit cards offer the same intro period on either purchases or balance transfers, very few offer such a long intro period on both. After the intro period is up, the APR reverts to a variable APR between 11.99 and 21.99 percent based on creditworthiness.
• Citi Price Rewind. The Citi Diamond Preferred Card features Citi Price Rewind, a service offered by Citi designed to get you the lowest price. You should read the details here, but essentially the service analyzes eligible purchases made with the card and looks for lower prices on the same item. If it finds a difference of more than $25, you can submit your receipt by mail or fax and get a statement credit.
• 24/7 Concierge. Cardholders receive complimentary access to Citi’s 24/7 Concierge that helps book hotel rooms, flights, reservations, and more.
• Special access to unique experiences. The card grants cardholders special access to pre-sale tickets, preferred seating, VIP packages, and other unique entertainment experiences through Citi Private Pass.
• No annual fee. There is no annual fee to use the card.
• Safe. Cardholders can rest easy knowing they have a $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee through Citi Identity Theft Solutions that ensures they will never have to pay for unauthorized purchases.

Disadvantages

• Balance transfer fee. While the Citi Diamond Preferred card offers an extremely long intro period of 0 percent APR on balance transfers, it still requires a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3 percent of the balance transfer, whichever’s higher.
• No rewards program. The Citi Diamond Preferred Card doesn’t offer a rewards program of any kind, other than the Citi Price Rewind service – not a true rewards program.
• Overseas transaction fee. Make purchases outside the U.S. and you’ll pay a 3 percent fee.

Bottom line

Get it if: You have fair to excellent credit and are looking for a long intro period of 0 percent APR on either purchases, balance transfers, or both.

Forget it if: You are interested in earning rewards by using your credit card.

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Note: While we attempt to be completely objective when reporting on credit cards, this site may be compensated by issuers when a reader applies for a credit card through the links within credit card stories or on our credit card search page. In addition, terms, interest rates, and other card details are subject to change without notice; don’t rely on what you read here. Before applying for any credit card, always confirm the details with the issuer.