Credit Cards with 0% APR for 1 Year

Credit card companies have recently starting offering 0% APR offers lasting one full year again.  In the past, nearly every credit card advertised a 0% APR for 1 year.  However, during the past nine months, many credit card companies started reducing the length of these offers to 6 months.  Recently, however, more and more credit card companies are upping the duration of 0% credit card offers, at least in their advertisements.  As always, it takes a little detective work to find which companies are offering the best credit card deals.

Let me start with a question:  what’s the difference between a 0% APR for 12 months and a 0% APR for up to 12 months.  In many instances, its six months.  Without naming names, some companies advertise a 0% APR for 12 months, but state in the fine print that the rate may only last for 6 months, based on a review of your credit.  In the past, a majority of people would have qualified for a 0% APR lasting a full year.  Today, credit card companies are advertising 0% rates for a full year, but only granting these rates to consumers with the best credit.  The rest of us get shorter 0% rates and often don’t find out until its much too late.

Now, people with excellent credit (780 and higher credit scores) don’t have to worry.  They’ll get a 0% APR for a full year.  However, when many of us apply for a 0% credit card, finding one that only offers one introductory period is the key to locking in a low rate for an extended period of time.

The same advertising technique is also used with long term interest rates.  And the difference here can be quite substantial.  One popular offer currently advertises long term interest rates as low as 13.24%.  However, it is possible to be approved for this card and offered a rate in excess of 22%!  Thus, as with introductory interest rates, long term interest rates that include the verbiage “as low as” should be looked at with skepticism.  Unless you have superior credit, avoid “as low as” and “up to” offers and opt for credit cards that give applicants the rates they advertise.