topic 0% APR Credit cards in Credit Cards

0% APR Credit cards

AyaMai — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:24:01 GMT

I apply for 0% APR credit card per year in case I need it for unexpected emergency as I tend to keep my utilization to 0% - 1% with 305K credit limit, I might be paranoid. What's your strategy with 0% APR credit card besides moving your debt from one card to another.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

FicoMike0 — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:57:08 GMT

I just got a zero percent offer in the mail. I have a balance due in a couple of weeks I could transfer. The deal has a 5% transfer fee! That's 5% upfront too. No deal for me.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

DakotaM — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 16:40:21 GMT

I find that once you've acquired enough cards, at least one issuer sends a balance transfer offer your way pretty much every month. The terms vary from 10-15 months and 3-5% transfer fee. So if I really do ever need to use a balance transfer, I can count on one of those showing up.

Discover just randomly gave me a 0.9% promo APR on purhcases I think for 9 months on one of my cards. They are also known to give 0% APR on purchases for a year if you ask them nicely.

I will sometimes make use of 0% purhcase APRs on new cards, but I don't have any particular strategy for doing so.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

DebbsSeattle — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 21:02:49 GMT

I agree, 5% upfront not worth it everyone all the time. However, For those digging themselves out of the debt trap, the 0%apr is still worth it with a 5% bt fee. Example... If you carry the $10,000 @ 25% interest for 21 months making amortized payments to be zero balance in 21 months you would pay a total of $12,449. If you carry the same $10,000 for 21 months amortized to be zero balance at 21 months you would pay a total of $10,500 assuming the 5% fee. Using simple math and all 10 of my fingers and my toes too, that is almost $2k savings. That beats all of my cash back rewards on any card I now possess. As long as the borrowers intentions are solid and they are disciplined in their execution of the plan, they are really money ahead by making that move regardless of the 5% BT fee. Many offers out there are even 3% fee for the first 30/60/90 days of the account. Even beyond that, my Credit Union has zero BT fee for balance transfers regardless of intro period or otherwise. The intro BT period offered 0% and 0% BT fee...that WAS a solid WIN! Zero Apr balance transfers are a very valuable tool for those who are dedicated to digging out of the credit card debt sand trap once and for all.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

xenon3030 — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 19:10:39 GMT

Obtaining one 0% APR credit card per year with a large CL is indeed a good financial strategy.

To make it work, the CL should be sufficiently high like 20-25k, to be able to support you for a few monthes, in case of an emergency such as job loss. Since several lenders provide a low CL such as 5k, to get such large CLs, it might be good to try local CUs or small banks.

For example, US Bank gives a small CL, when approving customers for Cash+ such as 5k. But if somebody applys for Elan Max Cash, the typical CL can be around 15-20k. Anyway, not sure whether they still provide 0% APR in the first year.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

Spotsy — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 21:37:09 GMT

Not sure I would term it a good financial 'strategy'..but definitely a good 'tactical ' weapon if you are trying to tackle some lingering debt. Life NEVER goes as planned and setting your expectations for getting a yearly 0% card may not always go as planned ( you don't get approved, or not approved for enough to accomplish your goal ). If that happens, things start to get expensive, the balance grows, interest expense eats into your rewards value, etc...

A good 'strategy' would be to apply for CC only as needed, such as to take advantage of a good SUB for upcoming large spends, and only as a last resort to tackle lingering debt. The key is to PIF monthly and don't apply for anything unless it's truly needed. Save those inquiries for growing existing cards, or if you decide to buy a house, or multiple houses, or if you truly need a new card that has some long term value. Don't get sucked into the FOTM cycle apps....it can get messy at times.

What you have proposed to do make sense as long as all things in life go as planned....but ya know they rarely ever do. :-)

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

IslaFox — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 10:56:58 GMT

You can use it for emergencies, large purchases, or short-term interest-free financing.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

mAtchew — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:57:55 GMT

I do not specifically look for a new card with 0% every year, but I do pay attention to the cards that I already have that offer some good balance transfer options. Sometimes they are 0%, but more often a single-digit interest rate. I am actually trying to consolidate some of my cards just to have less to worry about, luckily I feel like I get enough balance transfer offers that I will not be missing out on any options.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

SpaceCityCCuser — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 12:40:37 GMT

I have NFCU as a back up if I need to use 0%BT offer. I don't currently have one of their cards but I recently got a mailer with 0% BT/fee for 12months on a new 2% card. I thought that was neat. I have heard horror stories about claw backs. I have not had this myself. But I would suggest you pay off any spend to earn a SUB. Don't try to BT the SUB spend. That is all I can add.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

Jessie — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:07:39 GMT

I don’t recommend applying for a 0% APR card just in case. If an emergency happens, it might be at the tail end of your card’s 0% period, which wouldn’t do you much good. If there’s no emergency, you’ve pretty much wasted a credit card application.

Instead, I’d wait to get a 0% credit card until you need one. That way, you can enjoy the full length of the 0% period, and you can compare offers to find the longest 0% promotion. If you can’t wait for a new card to arrive, you could use one of your existing cards, then transfer the balance to a 0% card. The best 0% card right now is U.S. Bank Shield, according to WalletHub, and the best balance transfer card is Citi Simplicity.

Another option is to get a card with good rewards that happens to offer a 0% intro APR. That way, you can benefit from the rewards even if you don’t need the 0% deal.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

LendLong — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:11:28 GMT

I have never done a BT but I'm looking into profiting from these 0% offers by investing cash I'd otherwise pay my bill with.

My thoughts now are on that I want to get big limits with BoA, Chase, WF, and NFCU as they allow transferring limits across cards. Even if I apply with them and get a small starting limit on a 0% card, I can move over my limit to that card giving me much more 0% credit.

Re: 0% APR Credit cards

dfwxjer — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 14:22:28 GMT

I get a monthly mailer from Wells for their 21 month 0% interest period for purchases and balances transfers but I try to avoid doing business with them due to shady dealings in the past.

Citi constantly sends 0% balance transfer offers albeit with an upfront fee

These can be great tools for those that finesse them but I'd caution people to ensure the debt accumulation behavior is changed before engaging in a balance transfer. Otherwise they can end up with a large balance at 0% and then run the original card back up creating double the debt.

Sometimes I'll finesse a large purchase if it's not too much of a pain in the rear. I'll take the cash I was going to purchase the item with, put it in a HYSA and then make the payments from that account until it's paid off. I pocket the interest and always keep the cash in the savings account in the event I need to pay it off immediately.

I don't view a large credit line as an emergency fund and advise others to avoid looking at them that way. One shouldn't be finessing interest or gaming the credit system without a fully funded emergency fund. (6 months of living expenses minimum for a W2 person) I'd further advise someone without an emergency fund to cease all fun and games until they have one.