Are there any hidden tricks credit card companies play during that 0% APR period?
I’m young and had a Visa card for several years, paying it off every month. Now I have a Discover card and I understand credit cards, however I’m in that 0% APR period until August. If I dont pay the full 0 bill lets say, there isnt going to be any hidden fees or interest, right?
For the record, I always pay my bills in full every month, please no "You should pay your card off every month anyway" answers. The whole point of the question is to understand the 0% APR period. Thank you!
Just wanted to add I wont be making any balance transfers or anything like that. And that I’d definately be paying more than the minimum due (.)
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No hidden fees for a person with common sense, however I worked in credit card customer service before. And some people thought that 0% for a year meant they didnt have to make any payments. If you are late even by a day the credit card companies will jack your rates up. Also it depends if it was a Balance Transfer offer… if you get a transfer offer at 0% for a year DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING ON THE CARD, anything that you charge on the card will occur interest at whatever the standard rate is. And normally you cannot allocate your payments to pay the charges first before the transfered amount.
If you don’t make the MINIMUM payment, you’ll have jacked up APR as well as late fees. The trick with some of the 0% cards is that people will do a balance transfer and will also make purchases on the card. The problem is that the balance APR is 0% but the purchase APR is that the money you pay goes to the lowest APR first. So while you’re still paying off the (probably HUGE) balance you transferred, your purchases are accruing the 18% "regular" APR and you can’t make a dent in what’s costing you money.
Nothing hidden. Just means no interest until that date. It’s a way for the credit card company to get you to accept their credit card offer.
Credit cards companies have LOTS of dirty tricks up their sleeves….. here’s what the US version of leading financial education website The Motley Fool has to say about them:
http://www.fool.com/ccc/secrets/secrets.htm