Truly Simple® Credit Card
- Best for: Fifth Third customers paying off a balance or a large purchase within the intro period
- What Sets It Apart: 0% on both purchases and transfers, with no deadline to make a transfer; 4% transfer fee, below the Wells Fargo Reflect’s 5%
- Features: Online applications for Fifth Third customers, branch or phone for others
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% for 18 months on new purchases and balance transfers
- APR: 18.74% to 29.74% variable
- Cost: 4% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum); no penalty APR
- Eligibility: Not offered in Vermont or Montana
- Pros: Lower transfer fee than the Wells Fargo Reflect; no deadline for transfers; the same 0% period on purchases; no penalty APR
- Cons: Three fewer months at 0% than the longest national offers, which run 21 months; no transfers from other Fifth Third cards; no rewards
Get the Truly Simple® Credit Card if you bank with Fifth Third and can pay off a balance or a big purchase before its intro rate ends. Purchases and balance transfers both get 0% for 18 months, and the card has no annual fee. If you need more time, pick a card with a longer 0% period.
The Truly Simple is Fifth Third’s card for borrowing at 0% rather than earning rewards. If you move $5,000 from a card charging 22% and repay it in equal monthly payments over the intro period, you pay a $200 transfer fee instead of about $915 in interest, a saving of about $715.
Key Features
- An intro annual percentage rate (APR) of 0% for 18 months on both purchases and balance transfers, counted from account opening
- Variable APR of 18.74% to 29.74% after the intro period, based on your credit
- Balance transfer fee of 4% of each transfer, $5 minimum
- No annual fee
- Applications online for current Fifth Third customers, or at a branch or by phone for anyone else
Pros
- A 4% transfer fee, lower than the 5% the Wells Fargo Reflect charges
- No deadline for transfers to get the 0% rate, while the Reflect needs a transfer requested within 120 days of opening
- The same 0% period on purchases as on transfers
- No penalty APR, the higher rate some cards charge after a late payment
Cons
- Three fewer months at 0% than the longest national offers, which run 21 months
- The 0% period runs from account opening, so a balance moved later gets fewer months at 0%
- No balance transfers from another Fifth Third credit card
- Not offered to residents of Vermont or Montana
It’s the pick for Fifth Third customers who can clear the balance before the 0% ends and want to keep the debt with the bank they already use. The Reflect, at 0% for 21 months, suits borrowers who need more time, and a cash back credit card suits those who pay in full each month.
Learn more about the Truly Simple® Credit Card or see how it compares to the best balance transfer credit cards.
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