The Discover it Balance Transfer card has no interest for 18 months—here's how it can help you become debt-free

The Discover it® Balance Transfer is no longer available via CNBC Select; offer details mentioned below may no longer apply.

If you are struggling with credit card debt, you aren't alone. On average, Americans with revolving credit card debt owe $6,194.

One way to get that debt under control is to move it to a balance transfer credit card with no interest accruing for a set period of time — anywhere from six to 21 months.

During the introductory 0% APR period offered by the Discover it® Balance Transfer card, you can pay off debt without accruing costly interest charges for up to 18 months on balance transfers (after, 17.24% - 28.24% variable APR).

But the Discover it Balance Transfer card offers cardholders more than just the chance to become debt-free — you can also earn rewards, finance new purchases and use the card overseas without incurring fees. Plus, there's no annual fee, which earns it a top spot on CNBC Select's list of the best balance transfer credit cards.

Below, we break down the Discover it® Balance Transfer card's rewards, benefits and fees to help you decide if it's the right card for you.

• Rewards
• Intro 0% APR
• Fees
• Bottom line

Like the Discover it® Cash Back, the Discover it Balance Transfer offers 5% cash back in rotating categories on up to $1,500 in combined purchases after you activate the bonus every quarter. After you reach the limit, it's 1% on all purchases. If you maximize your spending in these categories, you could earn $75 cash back each quarter on top of the 1% cash back you earn in all the other categories.

This card also has a unique welcome bonus where Discover automatically matches all the cash back you earned at the end of your first year. There is no limit to how much Discover will match.

CNBC Select calculated how many rewards the average American can earn if they optimize the way they use their Discover it Balance Transfer. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, who provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.

The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953).

Here's a breakdown of how much cash back you can roughly earn in each category, annually:

• Groceries: $103
• Gas: $44
• Dining out: $73
• Travel: $22
• Utilities: $49
• General purchases: $62
• Total: $353

Cardholders can earn an estimated $707 in cash back the first year (including the cashback from the welcome bonus) and a total of $2,120 over five years. The estimated fees and interest on debt repayment totals $478.

The cashback doesn't expire and you can redeem your rewards at any time for statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and more.

The Discover it Balance Transfer has one of the longest interest-free intro periods: 0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers (after, 17.24% - 28.24% variable APR). There is a 3% intro balance transfer fee, then up to 5% on future balance transfers (see terms), but this is typical and is arguably negligible when you consider the amount of interest you save by completing a transfer.

Many cards require balance transfers to be completed within 60 days from account opening, but this card sets a specific date so refer to your cardholder agreement for the exact transfer time frame. The intro period starts as soon as you open the card, not from the date you transfer the balance, so it's in your best interest to make the balance transfer as soon as possible.

Cardholders can also benefit from an introductory period of no interest on new purchases for six months (after, 17.24% - 28.24% variable APR).

The Discover it Balance Transfer card has no annual fee and there are no foreign transaction fees, though Discover is not as widely accepted overseas as Visa or Mastercard. Discover also provides a late fee waiver on your first late payment — which is helpful if you forget to pay on time. The waiver acts as a good reminder to set up autopay so you never miss a payment going forward. We always recommend paying your balance on time and in full.

With the Discover it Balance Transfer, you can transfer debt from high-interest credit card(s) with an introductory period of no interest for 18 months (after, 17.24% - 28.24% variable APR). This can help you save money in the long run, if you commit to paying off your balance during the introductory 0% APR period.

After you complete a balance transfer, it's essential to follow some guidelines so you can ensure you pay off debt within this introductory period. Transferring a balance is only the first step toward becoming debt-free. You'll need to make consistent, sizeable payments and avoid overspending to rid yourself of debt once and for all.

If you want a longer stretch of time to pay off your debt, consider the Citi Simplicity® Card with a 0% intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers from date of first transfer and 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases from date of account opening (after, 19.24% - 29.99% variable APR; see rates and fees). Balance transfers must be completed within four months of account opening. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).

Make sure you read the fine print before requesting a transfer. Balance transfer cards often have set maximum limits on the amount of debt you can transfer, and you can't complete a transfer between cards issued from the same bank. Also, be aware that good credit (scores 670 to 739) or excellent credit (scores 740 and greater) is often required for a balance transfer credit card.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

To determine which credit cards offer the best balance transfer deals, Select analyzed 101 of the most popular credit cards that offer no interest on balance transfers issued by the biggest banks, financial companies and credit unions that allow anyone to join.

We compared each card on a range of features, including: annual fee, balance transfer fee, rewards program, introductory and standard APR, welcome bonuses and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available.

For balance transfer cards, we used a Bankrate calculator to tally the interest rates and fees you could incur if you transferred $6,194, the average balance Americans carry on their credit cards in 2019, according to Experian.

If the average consumer with a $6,194 balance on their credit card pays $200 each month, they will spend $2,012 in additional interest, assuming the average 16.97% APR, according to the Fed. And it will take them 42 months — more than three years — to pay off that debt.

With four of the five cards featured on this list, if you take full advantage of the intro APR period and pay $200 per month, you'll pay less than $500 in interest. That's a significant savings.

For the cards that offered a rewards program, we also estimated how much cash back you might earn over a five-year period. Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

It's important to note the value of a point or mile varies from card to card and based on how you redeem them. When we calculated the estimated returns, we assumed that cardholders are redeeming points/miles for a typical maximum value of 1 cent per point or mile. (Extreme optimizers might be able to achieve more value.)

When choosing the best balance transfer card, we focused on the card that provides consumers with the cheapest way to pay off their debt rather than the number of rewards they could potentially earn. When you're in credit card debt, your primary focus should be repayment. Earning rewards should be seen as a bonus, and you don't want to spend beyond your means in order to earn points.

The five-year rewards total and the interest rate and fees estimates are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending and debt. You may earn a higher or lower return depending on your spending habits.

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For rates and fees of the Discover it® Cash Back, click here.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Balance Transfer, click here.

Information about the Discover it® Balance Transfer has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.