Written by
Brendan Dyer
Brendan Dyer holds a Master of Fine Arts in Journalism from Western Connecticut State University and worked previously as a content editor for Regional News Network, a hyper-local TV news station contracted by Verizon FiOS1 News. As a national service volunteer, Brendan exercised a passion for helping underserved communities and demographics through direct, community service. He constantly seeks to apply his expertise as a journalist to the field of personal finance with the goal of helping people navigate the complexities of the credit card industry.
Edited by
Courtney Mihocik
Courtney Mihocik is an editor at Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com specializing in credit card news and personal finance advice. Previously, she led insurance content at Reviews.com and worked as the loans editor at The Simple Dollar.
Mar 19, 2024 / 10 min Share on social mediaAt Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money .
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Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5The DCU Visa Platinum Credit Card is the best for a low interest rate and minimal fees, allowing cardholders to avoid most common credit card costs. Other than the favorable rates and fees, the DCI Visa Platinum card may not offer much value for people since it doesn’t have rewards, intro APR offers or a stack of monetary perks.
Add to compare*The information about the DCU Visa® Platinum Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
Add to compare Recommended credit score: ( 670 - 850 )Info Hover to learn more
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Purchase intro APR
13.50% - 18.00% Variable
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Intro offer is not available for this DCU credit card.
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Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
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On This Page Jump toOnly members of DCU Federal Credit Union (DCU) are eligible for the DCU line of Visa cards, including the DCU Visa Platinum Credit Card. It’s a no-frills card that doesn’t offer rewards, but advertises a low variable APR, making it a good option if you anticipate carrying a balance.
A balance transfer card with a 0 percent APR offer might be a better option to pay off short-term debt on a current credit card, but the DCU Visa Platinum can be great for long-term debt repayment at an industry-low APR. However, if you’re looking for rewards or cash back, you need to look elsewhere.
Credit Card Cash BackExpert Appraisal: Weak
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Expert Appraisal: Good
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Expert Appraisal: Typical
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Despite offering no balance transfer fee, it doesn’t have an intro APR period for purchases or balance transfers.
This card lacks a welcome offer.The DCU Visa Platinum is a great low-interest credit card that skips most common credit card fees. You’ll need to be a member of the Digital Federal Credit Union to qualify for the card, but it could be worthwhile if you want a simple, straightforward card with very few risks.
On the low end, this card’s APR can be as low as 13.75 percent, well below the national average credit card interest rate. The high end goes up to 18 percent, also less than the national average. This card is a good fit if you’re looking for a credit card but are wary of mounting interest charges.
If you tend to carry a balance or just want to mitigate expensive interest charges, low-interest credit cards can be helpful. But even some of the best low-interest cards still have APRs starting around 18 percent, making the DCU Visa Platinum card a true low-interest card. It’s difficult to find credit cards with interest rates this low, so it’s a solid option to consider amid rising rates.
Along with its low APR, the DCU Visa Platinum skips many fees that weigh popular rewards cards down. Since cardholders pay a total of $120 billion in credit card fees per year, cards that eliminate many common fees is a welcome sight..
Although not everyone can benefit from low fees and interest, this card may be helpful for people who have other fee-heavy credit cards. Even though it has no foreign transaction fees, annual fee, cash advance fee or balance transfer fees, it still charges up to $35 for a late fee, so you can’t completely avoid fees with this card. However, even its late fee is low since some cards charge up to $41 for paying late.
You’ll seldom find no-annual-fee cards like this one that carry convenient perks like travel accident insurance and extended warranty protection. You’ll often find these perks on rewards cards or premium travel cards with hefty fees and high APRs, but the DCU Visa Platinum is a Visa Signature card, so it provides an extra layer of network benefits.
Extended warranty protection will extend eligible manufacturer warranties of three years or fewer when you use your Visa Signature card. You’ll also receive travel accident insurance as part of your Visa Signature benefits. To qualify for coverage, you must pay your entire travel fare with your DCU Visa Platinum.
If you think of rewards and everything you stand to gain when you think of credit cards, this won’t be your first choice. Because it charges few fees and a low APR, this card has no short- or long-term benefits that add pennies to your wallet for every purchase you make.
Competing cards offer generous cash back and rewards rates that incentivize card use. Rewards credit cards are often best for people who don’t carry balances, never miss a payment and take advantage of monetary perks to offset annual fees. If you use credit responsibly, rewards are often the deciding factor when shopping for a new credit card.
Since the DCU Visa Platinum doesn’t offer rewards, it might not be the first choice for responsible credit users. But sacrificing rewards to keep other costs low could pay off if you’re wary of rates and fees.
A low-interest card is helpful, especially when it comes with a generous intro APR offer for either new purchases, balance transfers or both. Typically lasting 12 to 15 months, these offers help new cardholders curb interest charges. This reprieve gives people a temporary window to pay off their debt or make new purchases without worrying about extra charges.
The DCU Visa Platinum is a great long-term card if you tend to carry a balance, but if you can pay off your debt or any new balance you accrue in a year or so, you’ll be better off choosing a low-interest card with an intro APR.
But you may appreciate the DCU Visa’s low ongoing interest rate long after typical intro APR periods end. The DCU Visa Platinum makes the most sense for cardholders who anticipate making new purchases for many years to come. Regardless of how you’ll use your next credit card, the best credit habit is always paying on time to avoid interest charges, no matter how high or low your APR is.
Credit card issuers constantly update welcome offers to remain competitive in the rewards card landscape. These lump sum payments entice new applicants to apply for a new credit card and jump right into using it to meet a minimum spending requirement. Standard welcome offers land between $200 and $300, giving you a nice boost for your initial spending.
The absence of a welcome offer makes a new credit card much less exciting, but it keeps you focused on the practical elements that motivated you to apply in the first place, like access to a line of credit. However, several low-interest credit cards carry welcome offers that reward you for your spending during your first few months. Although cards with welcome offers typically have higher APRs and charge fees that the DCU Visa Platinum doesn’t, you might find them worth the risk because you can earn a good chunk of your spending back.
If your main goal is to temporarily pay no interest on purchases or a balance you transfer, you may benefit by choosing another card. Most cards with intro APR offers also have other perks, like rewards, but their ongoing rates are higher than the DCU Visa Platinum card’s APR. Here are some worthwhile comparisons to help you decide:
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24.
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within 3 months of account opening; redeemable for $200 in gift cards at thankyou.com.
Special offer: earn 5 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com through December 31, 2025. Earn 2X ThankYou® Points at Supermarkets and Gas Stations for the first $6,000 per year and then 1X Points thereafter. Earn 1X ThankYou® Points on All Other Purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
The Citi Double Cash® Card offers an introductory APR on new purchases, a welcome offer and rewards you generously for every purchase. This card’s ongoing APR is substantially higher than the DCU Visa Platinum card’s APR, but you won’t need to worry about interest if you never carry a balance. Plus, if you pay your balance each billing cycle, you’ll earn up to 2 percent back for purchases with the Citi Double Cash card (1 percent when you buy, 1 percent when you pay). If you can keep up with paying off your monthly balance, the Citi Double Cash card is the clear winner because you’ll earn 2 percent back for your spending, and you’ll have the chance to earn a nice welcome offer. However, if you have spotty repayment habits and want to keep interest low for as long as possible, the DCU Visa Platinum will accrue interest at a slower rate than the Citi Double cash card.
Another card that offers an introductory APR period and rewards is the Citi Rewards+® Card. It has a slightly lower ongoing APR than the Citi Double Cash card, but its regular APR is still much higher than the DCU Visa Platinum card’s APR. Like the Double Cash card, this card offers a decent welcome offer, but instead of cash back, it offers tiered rewards in common purchase categories. It can be a decent compromise between the Double Cash card and the DCU Visa Platinum because it has a relatively low interest rate, an intro APR and offers rewards. However, it’s a mostly middling option that tries to do too much. Deciding what you value most might be wiser: rewards or a low ongoing APR. Once you decide between the two, a card like the Citi Rewards+ might look like it doesn’t do anything well enough to make it a worthwhile option over the Citi Double Cash card or the DCU Visa Platinum.
Anyone who values saving on interest more than credit card rewards might have this card at the top of their list.
If you want to avoid complicated credit card strategies and keep things simple by holding one card, the DCU Visa Platinum is a good choice. It will keep interest charges as low as possible, and you won’t need to worry about making the most of your card.
Anyone trying to fast-track their savings balance to meet new savings goals will appreciate this card’s low-fee, low-interest approach. This card is a good fit if you’re wary of credit card issuers charging skyrocketing interest rates or overcharging for foreign transactions, cash advances, balance transfers and annual fees.
Yes, the DCU Visa Platinum is worth it if you’re looking for a great interest rate and want or need to carry an ongoing or occasional balance.
But it won’t be worth it if you like earning rewards with your credit cards, so the DCU Visa Platinum Rewards Credit Card might be a better option.
It’s also important to note that to qualify for the DCU Visa Platinum Rewards Credit Card, you must be a Digital Federal Credit Union member. You might be eligible to join if you live in Massachusetts or Georgia. If not, another way to qualify is to make a small, tax-deductible donation to a DCU nonprofit organization. This process might seem like a lot of work just to qualify for a new card, but this card’s low-interest interest rate might be worth it as interest rates continue to rise.
Credit Card Apr
APRs tracked Data points analyzedCredit Card Reviews
Perks evaluatedOur proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring balance transfer and low-interest cards, including each card’s introductory APR, intro APR period length, ongoing APR, balance transfer fee, perks and more.
While balance transfer and low-interest cards share a similar ratings rubric, we weigh features differently based on how a card is categorized. We categorize cards that carry an especially long intro APR offer on balance transfers as dedicated balance transfer cards, while cards that offer an especially low ongoing APR are considered general low-interest cards.
Based on its features, we assigned this card a primary category of [balance transfer / low interest] and tailored our ratings accordingly.
We analyzed over 100 of the most popular balance transfer and low-interest cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up against those of other cards in its category.
Here’s a breakdown of what gave this card its score:
The primary factor in a balance transfer or low-interest card’s rating is the quality of its introductory APR offer and ongoing APR. This includes both the introductory rate itself and the length of the intro APR on both balance transfers and new purchases. For cards designed primarily for balance transfers, the intro APR offer on balance transfers has the largest impact on overall score. The quality of these cards’ intro APR on new purchases is also considered, but holds less weight than the intro APR on balance transfers. For general low-interest cards, the intro APR offer on new purchases has the largest impact on overall score, followed by the ongoing APR and intro APR offer on balance transfers. This weighting assumes cardholders considering a card in this category will prioritize payment flexibility on new purchases or may need to carry a balance long term, whereas cardholders trying to pay off debt will opt for a dedicated balance transfer card. The cards that score the highest in these categories tend to offer long 0-percent intro APRs on both balance transfers and new purchases as well as a lower-than-average low-end APR.
Along with evaluating each card’s intro APR offers, we score balance transfer and low-interest cards based on their fees. Of primary importance is a card’s balance transfer fee, since this can play a large role in the total cost of a balance transfer. We rate each card’s balance transfer fee based on how it stacks up against the fee you’ll find on competing cards. While this fee carries less weight when we assess general low-interest cards than dedicated balance transfer cards, it still factors into our evaluation since cardholders may decide to transfer debt to a low-interest card even if it offers no intro APR or an intro APR higher than 0 percent. And while a lower balance transfer fee could save you more overall than a few extra months of 0-percent intro APR, this fee carries less weight in our scoring system than a card’s introductory APR and intro APR period. This is because many users prioritize getting as much time as possible to pay off debt while avoiding interest. Our ratings also factor in the presence of annual, foreign transaction, cash advance and late payment fees, along with penalty APRs. Annual fees are weighted most heavily since these are the only “unavoidable” fees in the list and tend to be less common on dedicated balance transfer and low-interest credit cards.
While getting a generous intro APR offer and low ongoing APR are likely to be the biggest priorities for someone looking for a low-interest or balance transfer card, we also consider how much value a card can offer after its intro APR comes to an end. Balance transfer and low-interest cards receive a higher rating if they also include an ongoing rewards program or unique and valuable perks. Such features make a card more useful long term and make it less likely you’ll need to apply for a new card (and temporarily hurt your credit score) after you pay off debt.
