Getting a 0% APR on Purchase and Balance Transfers
Getting a 0% APR for 1 year on both purchases and balance transfers is not as easy as it used to be. In January of 2007, just about every credit card company issued at least one credit card with a 0% APR that applied to both types of transactions. As of march 14th of this year, the number has dwindled dramatically. Currently, both Chase and CitiBank issue credit cards that offer 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers. The remaining issuers either offer a 0% APR on either purchases or balance transfers, or 0% rates that are less than one year.
Bank of America also issues a number of credit cards that offer a 0% APR on balance transfers and cash advances. However, they do not offer a card with a 0% APR for 1 year on purchases and balance transfers.
Discover offers a tiered structure of 0% for 1 year on balance transfers and 0% for 6 months on purchases.
American Express still offers one card with a 0% APR on purchases for 15 months, but no cards with 0% deals on purchases and balance transfers.
Overall, the movement away from offering consumers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers is a disturbing trend. Hopefully, the credit card companies won’t strip us of all the good offers.