Mark Carolin

Archive for the ‘Low Interest & No Interest Credit Cards’ Category

If you are in fact in the market for a no interest credit card there are some important facts that you must be aware of. First and foremost, you will probably remember that it wasn’t all that long ago that we saw 0% APR offers just about everywhere we looked.

They were introductory offers that lasted anywhere from 6 months to 12 months and were used by the banks to pick up new customers and to lure away existing customers from their competitors. It almost seemed as though they were handing them out as if they were candy. That’s all over now.

This practice came back to bite the banks and financial institutions hard and continues to haunt them today. The fact of the matter is that they were offering credit to consumers that have questionable to poor credit histories. Offering credit to the subprime market nearly ruined some of largest banks in the United States.

Having said that, the good news is that if you do have a good to excellent credit rating then you will in fact be able to find a no interest credit card. Of course when we say no interest we mean for an introductory period. The length of that varies from issuer to issuer and card to card.

As of the publishing date of this article both Discover and Chase had several 0% APR offers available. Some also come with a 0% APR balance transfer option which can be ideal for the consumer that currently carries a balance with a high interest rate.

The best way to find offers is by visiting a trusted comparison website. There you will be able to conveniently do side-by-side comparisons of the various offers. You can also quickly compare the benefits and features which will give you a good idea of which offer best suits your financial needs.

It is absolutely imperative that you also familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of the offers that you are interested in. It is a sad fact that many individuals fail to fully understand what the terms are before they apply for a no interest credit card.

This is a costly mistake because when the 0 percent APR introductory period ends they suddenly find that they are paying out quite a bit of money on interest. The terms were there and spelled out all along, they just never took the time to read them. Don’t let this happen to you.

According to Google, lots of folks are searching the Internet for 0% interest credit cards, no-interest credit cards, and interest-free credit cards. Do such cards really exist, or are these potential card holders embarking on a wild goose chase?

You can find 0% interest credit cards. However, the length of the 0% interest period varies from card to card. If you have been hunting for a card that never charges interest, you are, sadly, out of luck. Credit card companies make money from the interest you pay them. But some credit cards do offer an interest-free first year, or even longer. This is great for card holders who anticipate carrying a balance, but who will be able to pay it off before the introductory period runs out.

At the time of this writing, several companies offer 0% interest cards. The Citi Platinum 12 month BT MasterCard, as its name suggests, offers 0% interest for 12 months at an average APR of 16.9%. The Discover Platinum also offers 0% interest for 12 months, with an average APR of 10.99%.

Other cards have lower rates and longer interest-free periods. These include the Advanta Platinum Rewards MasterCard, with 0% interest for 16 months and an average APR of 7.99%; and the American Express Blue Credit Card, with 0% interest for 15 months and an 11.74% APR.

These are just a few of the 0% interest cards out there. It definitely pays to shop around and find the one that best suits your needs. Look for balance-transfer cards that offer rewards, too, if the terms are agreeable.

If you are thinking of getting a 0% interest card in order to transfer other another card’s balance onto it, do your homework first. You could get hit with a balance transfer fee, typically 2% of the amount you wish to transfer. Also, these cards might carry interest charges for purchases made. Look for credit cards that offer 0% interest for the life of the transfer, but also beware of ‘minimum monthly spend’ requirements. If you fail to meet those requirements, the interest charges will start rolling in.

Yes, there are 0% interest credit cards out there – if, by zero interest, you mean a no-interest introductory period, or zero interest on the life of a balance transfer. Either type can be very valuable to card holders in the right situations. Just remember that the only truly interest-free credit card is the one you pay off each month. Don’t carry a balance, and you will enjoy the benefits of 0% interest all the time.

Having a debt and paying no interest on it seems almost too good to be true. But many consumers use their credit cards to do just that. The process is known as rate surfing or credit card jumping.

How Do I Start With Credit Card Jumping?

Many credit card companies offer preferential rates to new customers. These can take a variety of forms. Some credit cards offer long term low interest rates. Others offer a 0% rate on purchases for a fixed period, usually six months. Still others offer a 0% interest rate on balances transferred to the credit card. This last type of offer is the one that is of most interest to credit card jumpers.

All people need to do is apply for the credit card as usual. Most credit card forms, whether online or in print, have a section where applicants can write the card numbers of the cards they hold and the amounts they want to transfer. Balances can be transferred from other credit card and from store cards.

Some credit card companies also allow new applicants to transfer loan amounts by using credit card cheques. It is worth checking that such cheques also enjoy the 0% balance transfer rate. Credit card cheques are often treated as cash withdrawals and can attract a higher interest rate.

How Does Credit Card Jumping Work?

The key to successful credit card jumping is to move the outstanding balance to another credit card with a 0% rate just before the interest free period expires. This means:

- Finding a new credit card with a 0%i balance transfer rate (maybe by looking on the internet)

- Applying for the new card at least a month before you want to transfer the balance

- Transferring the money from the old card at least a week before the interest is due to be applied.

This is not a difficult strategy for anyone who is well organised. To avoid hurting their credit rating, which could lead to refusal for other cards, it is essential for card users to make at least the minimum payment each month. The payment should also be made on time.

Do Credit Card Companies Make Money From Jumpers?

They don’t – or at least they didn’t. Credit card jumping has cost credit card companies hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. That’s why credit card companies have come up with a new way to make money from credit card jumpers. It’s called the balance transfer fee. The balance transfer fee is a fee of around 2% that is applied to balance transfers. This means that credit card companies get their money up front.

This is not good news for credit card jumpers, though credit card jumping may still be worthwhile if the current interest being paid on the debt is high. Although many credit card companies apply a balance transfer fee, not all do, so it is worth shopping around. There could still be time to do some credit card jumping.

Ah, a dream of mine would be to find a credit card that’s going to charge me no interest. How great would that be? That’s like asking for a loan, but you have to pay no interest. While, yes, it does sound too good to be true, I wanted to show you how you can find a credit card that has no interest at all. What you’re going to notice is that it’s going to be a lot harder than you think.

0% interest credit cards are hard to find…

If you really want to get a loan, or credit card for a 0% interest rate, you first have to ask yourself, “why?” Do you want to transfer a car loan? student loan?

No matter what you wan the loan for, you may be looking in the wrong spot. What you don’t want is a credit card with 0% interest, but rather a balance transfer card that’s going to give you 0% for a certain period of time.

You can do all the searching the world and go for loops, but let me give you the honest word right now. You’re not going to find a credti card that’s going to pay you 0% for life. This isn’t going to happen! If they did this, everyone would know about it and the banks would go broke. This wouldn’t be fair to the banks, would it?

How a balance transfer is going to work…

You’re going to first want to know how much you’re going to transfer over. Many credit card companies are going to want you to have a good credit score, if you want to apply for one. Generally, if your score is higher than 700, you should get the okay.

Next, ask the bank if you’re able to transfer your balance over. You may find that it may be too much. If this is the case, you may want to cut it half, or split it up.

After you figure out what you can transfer, how long is the 0% going to be into effect for? What you’re going to realize is that you’re going to want to pay it off within 6 – 12 months. Even if you can’t pay it off within that time period, you can always get another card after the 12 months and repeat.

These type of cards are a great way to pay nothing on your loan balances. There are a lot of balance transfer based cards out there and it changes all the time. Find one that works for you and go from there.

Credit cards with no annual fee are very common today. With all the media hype about high credit card debt, banks are offering many special perks to get your business and be competitive with other banks.

Whether your credit card debt is out of control or you’re just trying to save money, it makes sense to try get a lower interest rate on your credit balances, and if you can transfer those balances to a no balance transfer fee card, you’ll be saving even more cash. The trick is finding a no balance transfer fee card with terms as good as a card that does charge fees.

Some plans might not sound as if they’ll save you much money, and they might not if you have only one small balance or a few small balances. If you transfer a small balance of $1000 to a card that offers no interest but charges a 3% balance transfer fee, you’ll pay about $30. If you transfer that balance to a no balance transfer fee card, but that card charges 3% interest as its low rate, you’ll pay $30 a month instead of just one time. The best choice is clear, pay the fee once and get no-interest or lower interest on an ongoing basis.

But if you’re transferring several balances, you’ll pay a fee for each one, usually about 3%. If the amounts are substantial, each transfer fee could be up to $75. Take the time to add up these fees and compare with the savings. Be sure you’re aware of how long that low introductory interest rate will last, and how high the interest will jump at the end of that period . A no balance transfer fee card with terrible terms can easily cost you money in the long run even thought it cost you nothing to transfer balances. It might be worth paying those balance transfer fees to a card with a longer low-interest period, or one in which the interest rate after that period stays lower.

It takes a little math to determine your best course of action, but almost always, transferring to a lower interest credit card with good post-introductory terms is a great way to save money. And a no balance transfer fee card can make the deal even better.