The growth of the high-T_c cuprate Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈_+δ (BSCCO-2212) superconductor is always challenging due to the contamination from alumina crucible or the intergrowth of higher phases such as Bi₂Sr₂CuO₆+δ (Bi-2201). In this work, we report the synthesis of BSCCO-2212 with the highest reported superconducting transition temperature, T_c of 96.6 K, achieved using an improved self-flux technique. The as-grown crystals characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) measurements. PXRD on single crystals reveals the absence of contamination from the alumina crucible as well as the absence of the intergrowth of Bi-2201 phase. PXRD on crushed single crystals reveals minimal intergrowth of Bi-2201 and Bi-2223 phases. The physical properties were investigated by carrying out temperature-dependent magnetization and resistance measurements. Magnetization measurements revealed the T_c of three single crystals of BSCCO-2212 to be 93 K, 94 K, and 96.6 K, higher than the previously reported values in the range from ~ 90 to 93 K [1–5]. Such a high T_c and the absence of an intergrowth phase indicates a good quality of the grown crystals that can be utilized for fundamental as well as basic research.