Qualifying for Zero Interest Credit Card
Generally, if you want a credit card company to give you a zero interest credit card, you have got to have really excellent credit. But if you do fulfill the requirements, you can save hundreds, or thousands, of dollars on your credit card payments.
A zero interest credit cards is especially good if it allows you to transfer some or all of debt from other interest bearing credit cards to them. For example, let’s say that currently you have a $2000 balance on one of your credit card with an annual interest rate of 12 percent This means every; month you are paying approximately $20 a month in interest to that credit card company. By transferring this debt to a card that charges no interest, you have basically saved yourself $20 a month.
It wasn’t too long ago that if you had good credit, you’d literally find your mailbox stuffed with zero interest credit card offers with introductory periods of a year or more. But lately these offers have been getting less frequent. Additionally, different credit card companies have varied definitions as to exactly what “zero interest” really means.
To some companies, zero interest means that the company will bill you zero interest on any thing that you charge during the introductory period. To others, 0 interest will mean that they will not charge you interest on any credit card balance that you transferred to them during the introductory period. To other companies, it can mean both, neither, or something else completely. To find out exactly what your zero interest credit card offer is refers to, there’s no alternative to reading the fine print in the credit card application.
So where do you find no interest credit card offers? For one thing, just about every credit card company has a presence on the Internet these days, so it’s relatively easy to power up your favorite search engine and type something like “zero interest credit card offers”. This will give you a great starting point for seeing what the marketplace is currently offering.
Another option you have is to visit one of the many Internet websites that rate and contrast various credit card offerings. Web sites like CreditCards.com and CardRatings.com offer you a convenient place where you can compare the offerings from a series of credit card companies simultaneously.
As an alternative option you can call your current credit card company and ask them if they’ll either offer you a credit card with zero percent interest or at least lower your current interest rate. If you have good credit,your company may be more than willing to offer you such a deal simply to avoid the prospect of losing you to one of their competitors.
The really nice thing about having a zero interest credit cards is that it allows you to take advantage of deals that you come across. If you are able to pay off your credit card balance before the introductory zero interest disappears, you have essentially received an interest free loan for the purchase of something that you may have purchased anyway.
And this is why, ultimately, zero interest credit cards are primarily useful for individuals who know how to set a budget and handle finances.