Credit: Shutterstock photoGinger Dean , personal finance expert
Favorite low interest card: Citi Diamond Preferred credit card
"Overall, the Citi Diamond Preferred card is the best option because of the generous introductory terms and access to premium features, which gives customers peace of mind and a safety net when making purchases."
Stephanie O'Connell , millennial personal finance expert
Favorite low interest card: U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
"In addition to the 0-percent introductory APR offer on purchases and balance transfers for 18 billing cycles, the U.S Bank Visa Platinum card has no penalty APR, which can be a particularly attractive feature for consumers who may have difficulty staying on top of their payments and are concerned about racking up additional interest."
Matt Schulz , senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com
Favorite low interest card: U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
"When you're paying down debt, every percentage point counts. That's what makes the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card appealing."
Daniel Ray , editor-in-chief at CreditCards.com
Favorite low interest card: U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
"If you want to avoid interest like the plague, then the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card gives you the best odds."
How we choose our best cards
This is the second year that CreditCards.com has held a contest for best cards in their class. To help choose the best cards for each category, we consulted credit card and personal finance experts and nominated the top three cards as finalists. We also rated cards through our credit card reviews program.
For each review, we rank cards using a weighted scoring system that assesses the cards' most relevant attributes. Each card attribute is ranked on a scale of 1 to 5. For low interest cards, we evaluate a number of common low rate card features, including:
- Rates and fees (85 percent): We look at how costly it is to use the card and how much you'll be charged in interest, fees and penalties. We give the largest weighting to how much it costs to carry a balance over three years. We calculate this using the regular APR, introductory APR and length of the introductory period. We also consider the card's fees and the size and presence of a penalty APR.
- Features/Perks (10 percent): We also look at the quantity, uniqueness and value of the features for each card and rate the features on a scale of 1 to 5.
- Rewards (5 percent): Rewards tend to drive up the cost of credit, making a low interest card less attractive. We give considerably less weight to rewards programs than to other factors that affect a card's affordability, such as APRs and fees.
After three cards were chosen as finalists for the best low interest card contest, a panel of five judges -- including credit card and personal finance experts and two members of the CreditCards.com staff -- were asked to independently judge the finalists and rank them in order of preference. The card with the best average rank was chosen as the winner.
See related : 8 things to know about credit card debt , 0-percent intro card buys time to pay debt , 4 wrong ways to escape credit card debt , Cut your credit card debt using micropayments
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
