Get 0% APR Until 2027 With This No-Annual-Fee Card

If you're looking for a way to pay off debt or cover a big purchase without racking up interest, the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card (see rates and fees) might be your best bet. It offers one of the longest 0% intro APR period you can get: 21 months from account opening, on both qualifying balance transfers and new purchases.

And there's a $0 annual fee.

Let's break down what makes this card appealing -- and why you might want to consider a different option, too.

Why the Wells Fargo Reflect Card stands out

This is a no-frills card. It doesn't pay cash rewards, and the only added perk is cellphone protection (up to $600 if you pay your mobile bill with the card; a $25 deductible applies).

But this card isn't about rewards. It's about giving you plenty of time to pay off debt with no interest. And that alone could save you a fortune.

Let's say:

• You're carrying $10,000 in credit card debt
• Your APR is 21%
• You're making payments of $500 per month (and not making any new charges)

It'll take you 25 months to pay the balance off, and you'll pay $2,415 in interest.

If you instead transferred that balance to the Wells Reflect card, you could pay it off in 20 months and pay $0 in interest.

The card does charge a balance transfer fee of 5%, min: $5 -- that'd be $500 in our example -- but the savings can far outweigh the cost.

There are plenty of great balance transfer cards on the market, but very few have such a generous 0% intro APR period. If you'd like to pay zero interest on balance transfers and purchases until 2027, click here to apply for the Wells Fargo Reflect Card.

Two alternatives to consider

The Wells Fargo Reflect Card is best for focusing on debt repayment. However, it doesn't offer much value beyond that.

If you don't need 21 months from account opening to pay off your purchases or your balance transfer, then here are a couple of cards that offer shorter 0% intro APR periods but more rewards. Both of them, like the Wells Fargo Reflect Card, have no annual fee.

Chase Freedom Flex®

This card offers an easy-to-earn sign-up bonus, as well as cash rewards that make it worth keeping long after the 0% APR period ends.

Key features:

• 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months
• 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate
• 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• 3% cash back on dining and drugstores
• 1% cash back on all other purchases
• $200 bonus after you spend $500 in the first 3 months

Citi Double Cash® Card

Between its rewards and its 0% intro APR period, this card is sort of a happy medium between the Wells Fargo Reflect Card and the Chase Freedom Flex card.

Key features:

• 0% intro APR for 18 months on Balance Transfers -- not purchases.
• Unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases
• $200 bonus after you spend $1,500 within 6 months of account opening

Read the fine print and make a plan

0% intro APR credit cards can be incredible money-saving tools -- if you pay them off before the interest-free period ends.

A few things to keep in mind:

• You'll have to pay a fee for balance transfers (generally 3% to 5% of the amount transferred).
• After the 0% intro APR period ends, any outstanding balance will be subject to a very high interest rate.
• Many balance transfer cards require a credit score of about 670 or higher. But that doesn't mean you'll definitely be denied if your score is lower. See if you prequalify to get a sense of whether your application will be accepted.

With that knowledge in hand, you can come up with a payoff plan that makes sense for you -- and find the best balance transfer card for the job.