Discover card payments?

[Anonymous]

I apped a discover IT card a few weeks ago to take advantage of a 0% balance transfer APR to help pay off a big trip I'd put on my Amex. Unfortunately I got a little excited, and didn't realize that the card offer had a different 0% purchase APR timeframe than either the mailed offer I received or the published offer on the web site. So I ended up with 18 months balance xfer 0% APR and only a 6 month purchase 0% APR. 

No problem, I planned to pay off the purchases each month so I didn't think it would be a big deal. Today I got the letter confirming the BT and it says that as long as I have a balance from the BT, there's no grace period for purchases. Eeeks! This is my first BT, so maybe this is normal, but I was expecting something more along the lines of Amex's plan-it feature, where carrying a 0% BT balance wouldn't affect the interest on my purchases.

So now I'm in a jam. It's possible, but unlikely, that I can get the whole BT paid off on 6 months. I could stop using the Discover after 6 months, and switch spending to my Amex, which has 0% for 15 months on purchases right now, but then I loose 6 months of potential cash back match. I had been hoping to use the Disco as my primary card this year to maximize the match. 

If I continue spending on the disco after the 6 mo 0% on purchases run out, can I just make daily payments to keep from being charged interest? I tried searching the Discover site to see if there were a maximum number of payments allowed, but didn't find an answer. How are payments applied? Will my minimum go to the BT and then extra to the purchase balance?

Thanks!

[HeavenOhio]

It's common to have 0% on balance transfers without having 0% on purchases. In a situation like that, with a couple of exceptions, there'd be no grace period on purchases. But you have information saying that you were to get 0% on purchases for six months. I'd call in and see why there's a discrepancy. It's possible that the computer spit out the wrong form letter.

Interest is computed based on one's average daily balance. Paying frequently won't avoid it completely, but it'll definitely minimize it. If you're paying interest, you definitely want to pay as early as you can.

But there's the extra added complication of mixing a 0% balance transfer with purchases and knowing how payments will apply. The general recommendation is not to make purchases when carrying a 0% balance transfer unless the purchase APR is also 0%.

[RonM21]

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@HeavenOhio wrote: 

But there's the extra added complication of mixing a 0% balance transfer with purchases and knowing how payments will apply. The general recommendation is not to make purchases when carrying a 0% balance transfer unless the purchase APR is also 0%.

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Very good point Heaven.  The few times I have done balance transfers, if the purchase APR was also 0%, I used the card.  But anything other than 0%, I did not use the card until the transfer was paid.  Just easier that way, imo.