Monday, February 05, 2007

The 0% APR Credit Card and Why You Should Consider One

By J. William Arnold

Read through this article to discover how not to pay annual percentage rates for decades. Basically, APR is the rate at which interest is calculated on the unpaid balance of your card. Credit card low APR is an appealing choice 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. Because the credit card company has lent shoppers money so they can make their buys, the credit card company will charge interest on the balance until the entire balance is paid off. Mostly, credit card low APR charge you an interest rate even lower than the standard APR offered by most traditional credit cards.

Because the interest rate advertised is calculated over the period of a year, it is known as the Annual Percentage Rate. It’s the quickest way of telling which credit card company charges the lowest rate of interest for using their card. However, there are a couple of additional things you need to keep in mind when comparing the APR advertised by different card issuers. Some consumers might discover that when an introductory APR offer expires the rate of interest can revert retroactively to an APR of 23% and beyond.

The credit card companies use the low, or 0 percent teaser rates to bring in new customers that they are hoping will continue to carry monthly balances that extend beyond the introductory period. More importantly, however, the 0 percent offer works for you because it can save you a large amount of money on interest during the introductory term. The lower the APR, the cheaper the card is to carry and the more money you'll save on it. You'll get low interest on all buys and balance transfers for up to 15 months.

A basic strategy to ponder; when your intro period on your existing card is about to expire, apply for another card with a 0% APR introductory rate from a different financial institution and transfer the balance to the new card and cancel the old. Considering all the financial institutions there is today it could be decades before you have to pay an annual percentage rate.

If you need to buy something expensive then the 0% APR credit card can look very appealing. However, if you will not be able to pay off your purchase by the end of the introductory special on your 0% APR credit card, you may learn that you will be paying more in the long run with higher interest rates. But you can do like most people, just apply for another 0% APR credit card and transfer the balance from your old 0% APR credit card to the new card and then cancel the old card.

If the interest rate is higher than the APR of another credit card that do not offer 0% APR credit cards and you’re not planning on heightening the 0% APR credit card you’re given. Then maybe, it’s better to go with a credit card with low interest. There are so many types of 0% APR credit cards that offer all sorts of promotions and rewards that it’s hard for a consumer to pinpoint which one would best suit their wants, needs and present financial situation.

If you’re going to buy something expensive but you don’t think you can pay it off before the introductory period of your 0% APR credit card offer expires then just before the intro period is over it would be a good time to look at other 0% APR credit card offers. 0% APR credit cards are an appealing choice for frequent shoppers that rely on having a 0% monthly interest rate when they cannot pay off the entire balance of the credit card in any month.

J. William Arnold has been involved in writing articles since 2001.For more information on 0% APR Credit Cards, just click on the following link. http://www.creditcardextreme.com

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