0% credit cards

With all the hype around these 0% interest rate credit cards, it can be easy to be carried away with what can be easily thought to be a fantastic offer. But don't be fooled by first impressions sometimes buried under the sugar coated surface there may be a deep hole just waiting for you to fall in to and possibly spend many months or even year struggling to climb out.

So let's shine a light over these 0% interest credit cards and see if they really are what they say they are “a great deal” or are they just a dark financial pits waiting to saddle you with painfully high interest rates for months to come.

The offer of zero interest is only a marketing tool used by credit card providers to attract more customers. So the firs thing you have to understand is that nearly all of these 0% credit cards will only offer a zero rate as an introductory rate and these amazing rates are not permanent and will only apply for a set time period, usually about 12 to 25 weeks. Once there set time period has expired they will always immediately increase to a higher interest rate.

However not all 0% interest credit cards are bad, a savvy borrower can use them to their advantage and get a great benefit from these type of credit cards but to do so will require a certain amount of self-discipline and some financial planning by the cardholder so as to pay of all or at least most of debt before the introductory rates expires.

If you are unsure of the time period of any 0 credit cards you may be thinking of applying for then it is important not to be afraid to ask questions, or clarify the terms of the credit card particularly regarding

1. How long is the introduction rate for?
2. What will the new interest rate be after the introduction period has ended?

3. Does the introduction rate apply to new purchases made with the card, or does it only apply to balance transfers.

Remember a 0% credit card is not always a cheap credit card

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