Posted by admin on April 26th, 2011
What Is A 0% APR Credit Card? Many of us have heard about them, but has anyone every explained 0% APR credit cards to you? Well, for starters, the APR or annual percentage rate is the rate of interest credit card companies charge on outstanding payments. The amount you are charged depends not only on the rate of interest, but also on the method of calculation of rates of interest. 0% APR credit cards are credit cards that charge you no interest on credit, for a specified period of time. The best 0% APR credit cards offer 0% APR’s to customers for up to 12 months. After 12 months the credit card issuer charges you at the normal rate. The card issuer assumes a risk by offering you interest free credit for such an extended period. They balance that risk by offering 0% APR credit cards to only customers with the best credit.
What Determines Your Credit?
Your credit depends on a number of factors. Your credit score, also known as the FICO score is widely used as a credit rating for Americans. Since your credit rating will determine whether you are issued a 0% APR credit card, knowing what goes into the score helps a great deal. Your credit score is determined based on five parameters. The most important among these parameters is your current debt and your history of repayment of debt.
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Posted by admin on March 14th, 2011
0% APR credit cards are an appealing option for frequent shoppers that rely on having a low monthly interest rate when they cannot pay off the entire balance of the credit card in any month. But what you really need to know about 0% APR credit card offers, often times is never discussed.
For starters, the APR is the commonly-used acronym for “Annual Percentage Rate,” which is the annual month-to-month rate that you can expect to get for your credit card balance. Naturally, if you frequently carry your credit card balance over from month-to-month, it is important for you to have a low or even 0% APR credit card.
How it Works
Every credit card company makes money when shoppers use the card, but do not pay off the balance at the end of each month. Because the credit card company has lent shoppers money so that they can make their purchases, the credit card company will charge interest on the balance until the entire balance is paid off. The credit card company has the potential to make a generous profit from the balances of their customers each month. Naturally, as a consumer, having a 0% APR credit card means that your balance is carried over from month-to-month without any charges applied.
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Posted by admin on February 24th, 2011
The era of 0% APR credit cards is still with us. Yes, you can obtain a spanking new credit card featuring a very low introductory interest rate and take advantage of what amounts to “free money” for you for up to one year. You can use your new card to your advantage, but you must be careful that you fully understand how a 0% APR credit card works to order to maximize its effectiveness. I will show you how, so please keep reading for all the informative details!
Soon after the new millennium started, interest rates began to drop to historically low levels. By 2002, loan rates for government funds dipped to just less than one percent, pushing consumer loan rates down with it as well. Credit card providers, seeing a terrific opportunity unfolding, immediately began to offer 0% APR credit cards to new card holders and even extended the offer to their current customers.
Today, interest rates have been climbing for two years, but 0% APR credit card offers are still available to you. Quite frankly, the entire lending business is very competitive and credit card providers are willing to forego interest for up to twelve months in order to get your business.
To maximize the effectiveness of 0% APR credit cards, there are a few things that you must know:
Limited Time Offer. 0% APR credit cards contain an introductory period lasting typically from six to twelve months. This means that anything you charge during that time will not accumulate interest. Go ahead and spread out your payments over several months: If you purchase something for $1000, you can make four equal payments of $250 interest free. Keep earning interest on your savings and let the credit card company fund your purchase!
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Posted by admin on December 3rd, 2010
It is interesting to note that what started off as a marketing gimmick has now become an almost permanent part of the credit card industry in America and today 0% APR credit cards can in fact play a significant role in helping a person reduce or get out of debt.
What Is A 0% APR Credit Card?
APR is the annual interest rate known in industry jargon as the Annual Percentage Rate. It is a reflection of the cost of credit. In the old days everybody paid a standard APR based on bank rates. It was usually about 18 per cent. The use of low APR came with the emergence of the monoline bank. These were banks that only issued credit cards and did not take any deposits or issue conventional loans. For their business model to work well large numbers were important for these breed of pioneering bankers and credit cards issuers so low APR teaser rates were successfully used to lure as many new card users as possible.
The gimmick seemed to have worked so well that today it is difficult to find a credit card company that does not offer some type of incentive APR during the first 6 months or one year. The more popular credit cards offer 0% APR for the first year.
Usefulness Of A 0% APR Credit Card In Reducing Debt
A 0% APR credit card can be extremely useful for somebody who wants to reduce their large credit card debt. For instance if you have a credit card debt that remains at about $10,000 and the APR is 20% then you will end up paying a whooping $2,000 in interest payments alone. With a 0% APR credit card the $2,000 could all go towards reducing that crippling debt. It is therefore clear that 0% APR credit cards can offer much needed financial breathing room for somebody in a serious credit card debt situation.
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