0 APR Credit Card | Comprehensive Credit Card Information Blog

Finally, you’ve decided to get a credit card with 0% APR rate. Now your problem is choosing one. You have to consider all the factors when choosing the best credit card with 0% APR. Below are some examples of credit cards that offer 0% introductory APR. All of these credit cards are available for online application.

• Chase Platinum Visa ® Card – offers a 0% APR for up to 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. The regular APR amounts to only 13.74% after the 12 month period. Chase offers easy access to your account, making it convenient for you especially when you are traveling. Another great feature to the Chase Platinum VISA ® Card is that it is a VISA ® and you are afforded with the all the benefits you get from VISA ®. With this card you can access cash from any ATM in over 150 countries. The Card’s VISA ® affiliation means that there are more that 20 million merchants all over the world that accept purchase with the use of a VISA® Card.

• CITI ® Platinum Select ® Card – gives you 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for up 12 months. They have one of the lowest regular APR of only 9.74%. They require no annual fee and have a great safeguard program against Identity Theft. You are free of liability on unauthorized purchases made with this credit card. CITI ® Platinum Select ® Card allows you access to your accounts online.

• Discover ® More Card – affords its customers a unique cash back upon application. 0% APR for a minimum of 6 months. This card has a great rewards program, offering up to 20% cash back when you shop online. It has a 24 hour customer service program. Discover ® does not charge an annual fee for almost all of its cards.

• Blue from American Express – up to 15 months of 0% APR as an introductory offer. Has a Balance transfer APR of only 4.99%. They also have a great rewards system and they require no annual fee.

There are a lot of other cards in the market that offer 0% Introductory APR. Pick the right one for you.

Now, you have chosen a credit card. How can you take advantage of the 0% Intro APR? The first thing you must remember is: don’t go spending and purchasing stuff with your new credit card like crazy. Remember, you still have to pay this later and if you spend too much it will accumulate regardless of whether your paying a 0% APR or not.

If you have more than one credit card, try reserving the use of you 0% APR card for big purchases and emergencies. This way, you can rest assured that the big amount you charge to your credit card will not suffer from any APR. However, this does not mean that you have to refrain from using your 0% APR credit card, it just defeats the purpose. If for example, the month is coming to an end and you have not made any big purchases on your card; use it then and avail of the 0% APR.

Almost every day, we get pre-approved credit card offers in the mail and they all claim to have a 0% APR. This is very tempting and makes you think of shifting credit cards or acquiring a new one. You have to admit that it is always at the back of our minds. But is it always the best thing to do? Should you contact that persistent credit card provider and avail of their 0% APR? It may sometimes be the best move, but not always.

There are a lot of things to consider when getting a credit card other than the APR. But in order to understand this, we must first define what an APR is:

APR stands for ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE; it stands for the yearly percentage that the bank gets from your account balance. For example, you have an outstanding balance of $30,000 in your credit card account and you have an annual APR of 12%; this results into you paying a rate of $3,600 for that entire year. If you are availing of a 0% APR, this means that you don’t have another fee to pay each year.

It sounds well and good. Who doesn’t want to get out of paying a yearly percentage fee? No one! The trouble here is the fact that there is no such thing as perpetual 0% APR rate. This is only an introductory offer that normally lasts from 6 months to 15 months depending on the credit card provider. After that you have to start paying the required regular APR and regular APRs range from as little as 10% to whopping 20% or more.

Now you’re saying to yourself “I don’t mind paying the regular rate as long as I can avail of the 0% APR period. Be careful, look into the credit card plan offer carefully before deciding to shift or getting a new card. Consider the following things:

• The Regular APR – look at the regular APR of your current credit card and the new one you are planning to shift to. Make sure that the new one’s regular APR is equal to or lesser than your current card’s. If it is greater, then shifting cards may not be so wise, because after you have availed of the introductory 0% APR you are then stuck paying for a greater APR than before.
• The Duration of 0% APR – there is no such thing as a perpetual 0% APR. Most 0% APR offers only last for 6 to 15 months, after that you have to start paying the regular APR. Think of it this way, if you are only getting a 6 month period of 0% APR and then you have to pay a regular APR higher than your current one, you will end up at the loosing end and it is best not to shift. BEWARE: if you are offered a perpetual 0% APR rate, find out as much as you can about the offer and the company promoting it. It could be a fraudulent offer or the company could be routing what you are supposed to pay to another fee form. You could end up paying more than you bargained for.

Consider also all the other fees associated with your credit cards and compare them to one another so that you know you are making the right choice.

If you are like most people, you have probably received credit card offers in which you are given a 0 APR. If your credit is less than desirable, you may also be wandering if you can apply for such cards. If you have good credit, it is very easy to get a credit card that has a 0 APR. However, if your credit is average or less than average, it will be very difficult for you to obtain these cards. There are a number of things you should know before you make the decision to apply for these cards. Most companies will send you these credit card offers after the holidays have ended. The reason you will often receive offers during this time is because a lot of people reach their credit card limits when buying gifts during Christmas.

When these customers are faced with the fact that they will have to pay back large amounts of interest on their monthly credit card payments, they will be enticed by the option of placing their balances on a card that has 0 APR. The only problem is, many of these people fail to read the fine print. You should never be so naive to believe that credit card companies have your best interests in mind when they offer you a card that allows you to transfer the balance from a high interest card to one with a 0 APR. If you don’t read the fine print, there are a number of problems you can run into. The first of these problems is if you accidently make your payments late.

The company may very well have a clause in the agreement that states that can raise the APR to the full rate if you are late making one payment, and this rate could be much higher than the card you originally had the balance on. There have been cases where the APR suddenly went from 0 to 30% when the customer was late making a single payment. In the long run, you may end up having to pay larger amounts of interest on the credit card. It should also be noted that many 0 APR credit card offers will not last forever. In most cases, these offers will only last for about six months to a year. If you are unable to pay off the card by the time the APR goes back up, you may end up having to pay a great deal of money in interest.

It is very important for you to know how much interest will be charged on the card after the introductory period ends. Many people fail to take this into consideration, and they end up owing a great deal of money. One of the best ways to deal with 0 APR credit cards is to not get them at all. A smarter course of action is to save money for things you want to purchase. By saving your money rather than borrowing from credit card companies, you steer clear of debt and remain financially free. You will also feel good about yourself. If you absolutely feel that you have to get a 0 APR credit card, it is very important for you to read the fine print. If there is a clause in the agreement that you don’t understand, call the customer service representative and ask them about it.

You have probably heard of a 0 APR credit card and wondered if you would qualify. Well, the answer is fairly easy. If you have good credit then you may very well qualify for a 0 APR credit card. But, if you just have ok credit or even bad credit then you can probably wave goodbye to your chances of being approved for a 0 APR credit card. However, you have likely applied for a credit card with an advertised 0% APR simply because you were tempted by such an offer. Before you apply for such an offer you need to know all the details about the credit card to ensure that the advertised 0 APR won’t end up biting you.

Generally, you will receive advertisements for 0 APR credit cards in the mail right after the holidays, although you may receive them year round. The reason you will receive offers for a 0 APR credit card right after the holidays is because many people max out their credit cards buying Christmas gifts and the idea of a 0 APR credit card is tempting so they can transfer the balances. However, make sure you read all of the fine print before you apply for a 0 APR credit card because it might not be as good an offer as you think.

First of all, once you have a no interest credit card and you transfer all of your balances all may go well for a little while. That is until you accidentally make a late payment. Then, the full APR allowed will be implemented. This means you could go from a 0 APR to almost a 30% APR in no time. You could end up paying higher interest by switching to a no APR credit card than sticking with the ones you have.

Another thing you need to keep in mind is that the credit card won’t have 0% APR forever. At some point the interest rate will shoot up. It could be six months, 12 months, or even longer. But, if you don’t have your debt paid off at this time you will be hit with a lot of interest. Also, if you have been spending more than you usually would simply because there is no interest on the credit card you may really find yourself in over your head. Make sure you are well aware of the interest rate that will be applied to your credit card after the introductory rate expires.

Remember that although it is very tempting to switch your balances over to 0 APR credit cards if the eventual APR will be higher than what you are paying now and you won’t be able to pay off your cards while the 0 APR is in effect then you will be better off not transferring. The credit card companies are really good at tricking people into switching over to 0 APR credit cards and then really increasing the APR. If you are smart with your credit then you will be better off in the long run by reading the fine print and making an informed decision about whether a 0 APR credit card is right for you.