0 Apr Card

The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) translates into the price you’ll pay over the course of a year in interest on the money you borrow. For credit card holders, APR means the percentage you’ll be charged for any balance not paid in full by the due date.

When you don’t carry balances, you’ll automatically have 0 APR credit cards. The interest-free period extends from the date of a purchase until the close of a billing cycle. You then have about 21 additional days with no interest. If you pay your balances in full by the due date, you can borrow money every month without having to pay for the privilege, no matter how steep the APR is that comes with a card.

Once you carry an unpaid balance into the following month, you’ll be charged interest on the balance, as well as on any new purchases, from the date of purchase until the balance is paid. Nonetheless, you can still get a credit card that doesn’t charge interest, at least for a while. Simply apply for a new credit card with a zero-interest APR introductory offer on purchases, balance transfers, or both. There are many 0% introductory offers on the market today for consumers with credit scores of at least 690. Many offers have a 0 APR for twelve months, but the interest-free courtesy can be as short as three months or as long as eighteen months.

Introductory 0 APR cards can be used to your advantage in a number of ways. You can make expensive purchases and pay them off in interest-free monthly installments as long as you pay in full before the offer expires. Zero APR cards can also make sense if you’re temporarily short on money but expect things to improve before the interest kicks in. Even if you carry a balance after that, you’ll still have saved considerable money. Cash-back cards with a 0% APR are another way to profit. Carrying a balance won’t offset your cash back for the duration of the interest-free period.

Zero percent balance transfer cards can be used to reduce interest payments. Although you’ll be charged a balance transfer fee of from 3-5%, you can still save money. Balance transfer 0 APR cards are profitable if you pay off the balances you transfer before the 0% APR runs out. If you’re currently paying high interest on credit card balances and you have the discipline to pay them off, you can save quite a bit with 0% balance transfers.

You may receive 0% APR credit card offers in the mail, but it pays to do some research before making a choice. Offers are plentiful and change frequently. CardRatings.com, LowCards.com, IndexCreditCards.com, and CreditCards.com are the most respected and comprehensive sources for current credit card offers.

There is one major disadvantage to introductory 0 APR cards. Every time you apply for a card, get a new one, or increase your available credit, your credit score suffers. Don’t apply for a new credit card for at least three months before applying for a mortgage or auto loan.