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Money picks for Paying off debt

Getting out from under high-interest debt with the right tool, whether a 0% balance transfer or a fixed-rate consolidation loan, and a payoff plan you can actually stick to.

What you're really asking: What's the cheapest, most realistic way to pay off my high-interest debt?

Our picks (10)

01
BankAmericard✓ Verified
0% intro APR for 21 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, with no annual fee.
EssentialBank of America
93/100
02
SoFi Personal Loan✓ Verified
A fixed-rate personal loan with no required fees and amounts from $5,000 to $100,000.
EssentialSoFi Bank
92/100
03
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card◆ Partner data
4% rewards with no annual fee.
EssentialU.S. Bank
94/100
04
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card◆ Partner data
No annual fee with 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months and on purchases for 12 months.
EssentialCitibank
93/100
05
Wells Fargo Reflect® Card◆ Partner data
No annual fee with 0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 21 months.
EssentialWells Fargo
93/100
06
Best Egg Personal Loan◆ Partner data
An estimated 5.99%–35.99% APR from Best Egg, sourced from our NerdWallet data partnership.
StrongBest Egg
84/100
07
Citi Personal Loan◆ Partner data
An estimated 9.99%–17.49% APR from Citibank, sourced from our NerdWallet data partnership.
StrongCitibank
84/100
08
Discover Personal Loan◆ Partner data
An estimated 7.99%–24.99% APR from Discover, sourced from our NerdWallet data partnership.
StrongDiscover
84/100
09
LightStream Personal Loan◆ Partner data
An estimated 6.49%–24.89% APR from LightStream, sourced from our NerdWallet data partnership.
StrongLightStream (Truist)
84/100
10
SoFi Personal Loan◆ Partner data
An estimated 7.74%–35.49% APR from SoFi, sourced from our NerdWallet data partnership.
StrongSoFi
84/100

Related

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Balance transfer or personal loan, which is better?

A 0% balance-transfer card is usually cheapest if you can pay off the balance within the intro window. A fixed-rate personal loan is better for larger debts or when you need a longer, predictable payoff schedule that a promo period can't cover.

Does a balance transfer hurt my credit?

There may be a small, temporary dip from the new account and inquiry, but paying down debt lowers your utilization, which usually helps your score over time. The bigger risk is running the balance back up on the old card.

Should I keep using my cards while paying off debt?

Keep new spending to a minimum and ideally on a separate card you pay in full. The whole point is to shrink the balance, and new charges on the debt you're trying to clear work against you.