Does this really work? Ya know the pay this amount for 3 years and not use the card and save x amounts of dollars in interest.
Depends on what the balance/APR is and making min payments. I got new appliances for the house when the fridge just quit. It posted before I could pay it and saw 13 yrs if I only made the mins. Showed 89% usage. But it went back to zippo the next month.
@williamachamberlain wrote:Does this really work? Ya know the pay this amount for 3 years and not use the card and save x amounts of dollars in interest.
If you're referring to promotional APR offers then yes, they would work as indicated on your statement. The things to keep in mind are 1) do not miss any payments as this will typically invalidate your promotional rate and trigger a penalty rate and 2) be aware of the impact on your utilization, i.e. maxing a card will have negative FICO impact.
@williamachamberlain wrote:Does this really work? Ya know the pay this amount for 3 years and not use the card and save x amounts of dollars in interest.
Well, it works but it's not there to show you when to pay it off, it's there to compare worst case scenario - making only minimum payments, vs worse one - somewhat above minimum payment.
If you go by three year pay off at regular Apr, you're still bleeding money.
So, if you're looking to get rid of debt, and are in position to apply for a new card with lengthy BT period, do that. Some offer 21 month BT, so add a few bucks to what "three year pay off " shows and be debt free in two years while not paying interest