Best balance transfer credit cards in the UAE, compared

There is no single best balance transfer credit card in the UAE. Each bank sets its own rate, fees and share of your limit, and the rate you are offered can depend on you. The best card is the one with the lowest total cost for your balance and term, judged on the APR in its Key Facts Statement.

Key takeaways

• We do not rank cards: offers change, and a bank such as Emirates NBD says it sets the rate on a transfer according to your card usage and overall performance.
• Compare the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), not the headline rate: it includes interest and other fees over a year.
• Check the processing fee, the early settlement charge, the term and the share of your limit the bank lets you move.
• A longer term lowers the monthly instalment but raises the total interest; the worked example below shows by how much.
• Keep the old card at zero after the transfer, or you repay the plan and a new balance at the old card’s rate.

What “best” means for a balance transfer

A balance transfer moves what you owe on one bank’s card to a card from another bank, where it becomes a monthly instalment plan. How the transfer works is set out in our guide to credit card balance transfers. This page is about choosing between offers.

“Best” depends on things that differ from one reader to the next: the amount you owe, how long you need to repay it and the rate the bank quotes you. We do not rank cards. Offers change, and banks can quote two customers different rates, so a list with a winner would be out of date quickly. About The Credit Zone explains how we work.

What we can do is show you what to compare and how to test an offer with your own figures. The Central Bank leaves card interest rates to banks under Article 11 of Regulation 29/2011, so the quality of an offer is decided by the bank’s terms, not by a rule.

Two banks’ published terms side by side

To show how far terms can differ, here are two banks’ published balance transfer terms. This is not a recommendation of either bank, and we have not compared other banks’ terms.

Source: the banks’ balance transfer pages, as recorded in our balance transfer guide on 13 October 2026. Terms change, so check the bank’s current page.

What to compare before you choose

Put these to each bank and get the answers in writing. Under the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Standards the bank must disclose rates and fees before you sign, in the Key Facts Statement.

1. The APR. It includes interest and other fees over a year, so it is the fair way to compare a low rate with a low fee. If an advert says a rate is “as low as” a figure, the bank must state the conditions, the assumptions and your chances of getting it. For what a 0% headline can leave out, see 0% balance transfer credit cards.
2. The processing fee. Lenders must disclose every fee and say whether it is one-time or recurring. Emirates NBD charges any processing fee on the first statement after booking. For claims of a free transfer, see no-fee balance transfer credit cards.
3. The term. Emirates NBD lists terms from 3 to 48 months. A longer term lowers the instalment and raises the interest, as the example below shows.
4. The share of the limit. Both banks above allow up to 90%, so the available limit must be at least the amount divided by 0.9. To move AED 20,000, that is AED 20,000 ÷ 0.9 = about AED 22,223.
5. The early settlement charge. Emirates NBD charges 1% of the outstanding principal plus 5% VAT for each plan settled early. With AED 8,000 of principal left, that is AED 8,000 × 1% = AED 80, plus AED 4 of VAT, so AED 84. The Central Bank’s card fee caps do not include a plan charge, so do not assume the loan caps apply.
6. When interest starts and what ends the plan. At Emirates NBD the first instalment appears on the second card statement after booking, with the interest accrued up to that date included. If you fail to make payments, the plan is closed and the whole outstanding balance, with the foreclosure fee, becomes due at once.
7. Rewards. Check the new card’s rewards terms: Mashreq’s Cashback Credit Card, for example, lists balance transfers among the spends that earn no cashback.

The charges that the Central Bank does cap, such as the late payment fee, are explained in credit card interest and fees.

Worked example: three plans for the same balance

A lower headline rate or a lower instalment does not decide the cheapest plan. This example compares three illustrative plans for the same balance.

Worked example

Three plans for the same AED 20,000 balance

The balance, rates, fees and terms are illustrations, not any bank’s offer. Fees are assumed to include any VAT. Plan A charges 1% a month on the reducing balance over 12 months with a processing fee of AED 200. Plan B charges 0% interest over 12 months with a one-off 3% processing fee. Plan C has Plan A’s rate and fee but runs for 24 months.

1. Plan A instalment = 20,000 × 0.01 ÷ (1 - 1.01^-12) = AED 1,776.98 a month. Over 12 months that is AED 21,323.76, so interest is about AED 1,324. With the AED 200 fee, Plan A costs about AED 1,524.
2. Plan B instalment = AED 20,000 ÷ 12 = AED 1,666.67 a month. The fee is AED 20,000 × 3% = AED 600, so Plan B costs AED 600 in total.
3. Plan C instalment = 20,000 × 0.01 ÷ (1 - 1.01^-24) = AED 941.47 a month. Over 24 months that is AED 22,595.28, so interest is about AED 2,595. With the AED 200 fee, Plan C costs about AED 2,795.
4. Comparing A and C: stretching the term cuts the instalment by about AED 836 a month (AED 1,776.98 - AED 941.47) but adds about AED 1,271 to the cost (AED 2,795 - AED 1,524).
5. Plan A has the lower fee, yet Plan B is cheaper overall because Plan A’s interest outweighs the fee difference.

On these figures Plan B costs about AED 600, Plan A about AED 1,524 and Plan C about AED 2,795, so the lowest instalment is not the lowest cost.

Use the same method with each bank’s real figures from its Key Facts Statement.

Check you can qualify for the card first

A balance transfer needs a new card with room for it, and you must qualify for that card. The Central Bank’s income floor is the same for every bank:

Minimum annual income for a credit card

AED 60,000 a year

Credit cards may be issued to people with an annual income of AED 60,000 or more; others can get a card only against a pledged deposit of at least AED 60,000.

A bank can set a higher income for a particular card: see the minimum salary for a credit card. A bank’s own conditions, such as a salary transfer, differ by card, and credit cards without salary transfer explains what the Central Bank rules do and do not require. If you fall short of the income floor, a secured credit card is the deposit-backed route, though it is a separate product with its own terms.

If the application is rejected, the bank must tell you the reason unless it relates to financial crime compliance or the law prohibits disclosure.

What a transfer does to your credit report

A transfer moves debt rather than adding it, but while both cards are open, both limits can count against you. The Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) reports an Income Utilisation Ratio that counts 5% of every active card limit as a monthly payment, whatever the balance.

If the old card has a limit of AED 25,000 and the new one AED 30,000 (illustrations), the ratio counts 5% × AED 55,000 = AED 2,750 a month while both are open, and AED 1,500 once the old card is closed.

The bureau lists how much of your credit limits you use and recent applications for new credit among the factors behind your score. Its score page gives no weights for them, so we cannot say how much a transfer moves a score. Closing the old card is a separate step: pay off anything left and ask for a clearance letter, as explained in closing the old card.

Before you apply

1. Get the exact balance. Ask the old bank for the full amount owed on the day, including interest and fees since the last statement.
2. Ask for the Key Facts Statement and note the rate, the APR, any processing fee, the term and the early settlement charge.
3. Keep paying the old card until the transfer shows on it. Anything the transfer does not cover stays on the old card and can keep attracting interest.

More topics are in our credit card guides.