Low APR For Emergencies

Anonymous · ‎08-20-2011

My current situation is 3 new CC since April and about 18% UTL across 5 cards. My lowest APR at the moment is 19.24% (AMEX Clear) and I thought I was good on credit cards until I realized that something may happen and force me into carrying a balance for a few months.

Eventually I'll have enough cash saved up for those types of emergencies, but right now I don't and won't probably until 2012. My EX from AMEX is 725 as of a few days ago when I requested a CLI. That inquiry, and the 3 CC inquiries since April are the only fresh inquiries on my report.

Are there any low APR cards you guys can think of that I could/would probably get accepted for if I applied today?

Thanks.

Anonymous · ‎08-20-2011

With my knowledge ... Non-Rewards card's APR is lower than Rewards card. I'm not sure you want Non-Rewards card or not.

How low are you seeking for?

minimock · ‎08-21-2011

Citi Platinum Select.

It has 0% on purchases and BT for 21 months.

Cant get any lower then that

Anonymous · ‎08-21-2011

@minimock wrote:
Citi Platinum Select.

It has 0% on purchases and BT for 21 months.

Cant get any lower then that

That is a year and 9 mos.

I think OP is looking for emergency, not temporally ... I think ...

OP, are you seeking for a temporally low APR card or low APR all the time for the emergency?

Meltdownblitz · ‎08-21-2011

I'd say go with a CU, they give very low APRs and good CLs.

Barclays Uber - 4% Restaurants, 2% Online Purchases/Everyday Card || PenFed Cash - 5% Gas || Amazon Visa Signature - 5% Amazon || U.S. Bank Cash+ - 5% Utilities, 5% Cable/Internet || AMEX BCP - 6% Groceries || WF Cash - Cell Insurance || Rotating 5% Categories - Chase Freedom, Discover It, Citi Dividend || AMEX Zync - For Fun!

minimock · ‎08-21-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
That is a year and 9 mos.

I think OP is looking for emergency, not temporally ... I think ...
OP, are you seeking for a temporally low APR card or low APR all the time for the emergency?

A year and 9 months is forever in the credit world

thebanjoman · ‎08-21-2011

Second on the CU. my lowest card is a CU for APR... but it's got no rewards so I barely touch it.

Anonymous · ‎08-21-2011

I just came to the same realization as you--I wanted a CC with a low APR in case I needed a balance for emergencies.

So I did a ton of research and I finally got a Citi card and got a 12.99% APR with an 8600 CL. This is lower than my chase freedom (27%) and my MBNA BofA (20%). But right after I got it I realized I should have just applied for a CC through my credit union b.c. the offered APRs are in the single digits. (I have no idea why in all my research it didn't occur to me to look at the products offered by my credit union. I just completely overlooked it.)

So if I could do it again, that's what I would do. I don't want another hard pull and I'm buidling up a savings account for emergencies anyways, but I probably will apply for my credit union mastercard in the future because the APR will be about 7-8%.

Anonymous · ‎08-21-2011

Thanks for all the input.

Yes, I am looking for a permanent low APR card, and I have a Citi Platinum Select but they only offered me 7 months of 0 APR (I think, I need to verify that). I figured that the only benefit of a low APR card is, well, low APR, and I'm ok with that. It would be a card that I would only use if I got stuck with a balance and didn't want to pay the 19% APR (lowest one I've got right now).

Thanks for the CU idea. I'm a member at the Hawaii State Federal Credit Union and have had a checking/savings account for over a decade now.

I just realized this, but don't most low APR cards also have a low limit? I mean, a card with 0% APR but only a $500 CL would be pretty useless and I really wouldn't want an inquiry just for that card.

thebanjoman · ‎08-21-2011

@ptrutkowski wrote:
Thanks for all the input.

Yes, I am looking for a permanent low APR card, and I have a Citi Platinum Select but they only offered me 7 months of 0 APR (I think, I need to verify that). I figured that the only benefit of a low APR card is, well, low APR, and I'm ok with that. It would be a card that I would only use if I got stuck with a balance and didn't want to pay the 19% APR (lowest one I've got right now).

Thanks for the CU idea. I'm a member at the Hawaii State Federal Credit Union and have had a checking/savings account for over a decade now.

I just realized this, but don't most low APR cards also have a low limit? I mean, a card with 0% APR but only a $500 CL would be pretty useless and I really wouldn't want an inquiry just for that card.

My CU line is a 5,000 limit (will be tied for top, when my Amex CLI appears on my CR) with a 6.5%apy rate... YMMV