You Might Not Qualify For A 0% Apr Card
If you’re looking to open a 0% APR card, check your credit score first. Introductory no-interest credit cards typically require good credit or excellent credit .
If your score falls in the fair and average credit range or bad credit range , you may have trouble qualifying for a 0% APR card. Some cards for people with less than stellar credit may still offer 0% APRs, but the intro period will typically be shorter than cards for good or excellent credit.
If you fall into this category, consider alternative debt-payoff options, such as personal loans, that may have more lenient credit requirements and generally lower interest.
How Credit Card Interest Rates Are Determined
The interest rate youll receive when you open a new credit card account is a product of your credit score and disposable income. Credit cards for people with excellent credit tend to have far lower interest rates, on average, than those geared toward people with limited credit, for example.
In addition to dictating which tier of offers you qualify for, your overall credit standing will impact the particular rate youll get from a card that advertises a range of possible APRs. For instance, an application may list an APR of 10.99% to 20.99%. The strongest applicants will get rates on the low end of that spectrum, and vice versa.
Its also important to note that credit card companies are able to raise and lower interest rates on existing accounts under certain circumstances. They can increase interest rates on new transactions at any time, as long as they give you at least 45 days notice of the change taking effect. They can also freely raise rates on existing business credit card balances, though you must be at least 60 days delinquent for such an action to be taken with a general-consumer credit card. Interest rate decreases can occur at any time. Theyre typically the result of a cardholder improving his or her credit score or entering into a debt management agreement.
Why Is High Apr Such An Issue
;represents the cost of using credit. Higher APR means higher costs.
With;, high APR is particularly problematic because of low minimum payment requirements. You may be required to pay off 2-5% of your balance each month. However, at the same time, 20% APR is applied to that same balance.
As a result, one-half or even up to two-thirds of every payment you make gets used to cover accrued monthly interest charges. You chip away at the debt you owe slowly. In some cases, when APR gets particularly high, it may seem like youre making no progress at all.
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Understanding Credit Card Balance Transfers
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The 0% introductory interest rate on balance transfers is a common feature of many credit cards targeted to consumers with good to excellent credit. While this offer looks great on the surface, people who take advantage of it might find themselves on the hook for unexpected interest charges.
The problem is that transferring a balance means carrying a monthly balance, and carrying a monthly balanceeven one with a 0% interest ratecan mean losing the credit cards grace period and paying interest charges on new purchases. Heres what you need to know about this potential situation and how to avoid it.
There Are Limits To How Much Of Your Balance Qualifies For No Interest
When you are approved for your new credit card, you’ll be assigned a credit limit based on your application. A credit limit is the maximum amount of money that can be charged to your card. If you have a 0% APR on new purchases, you can only spend up to your available credit limit.
The terms for the Chase Slate® credit card state: “The total amount of your request including fees and interest charges cannot exceed your available credit or $15,000, whichever is lower.”;
That means if you receive a $30,000 credit limit for your new Chase Slate card, you will only be able to transfer up to $15,000 of existing debt to your new account.;If your plan was to transfer $20,000 from another balance, you would have to reconsider.
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When Do You Pay Interest On A Credit Card
Heres a great secret about credit card interest: credit card companies usually grant you a grace period.;If a grace period applies, the credit card issuer will not charge you interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
However, if a cardholder fails to pay the entire statement balance, or does not make the payment in time, the cardholder has forfeited his or her grace period, and the interest charges will typically appear on the next statement. But cardholders should always check their cardmember agreement for details specific to their account.
The Consequences Of Not Paying Your Bill In Full By The Grace Period
If you dont pay your balance in full by the grace period, youll be charged interest for each day from when you originally made your purchases not just from when you received your statement and will continue to be charged interest each day until you pay off what you owe in full.
For example, lets say you bought a television on March 3rd and received your statement on March 30th. If you dont pay off your balance in full by the end of the grace period on April 20th, youll be charged interest retroactively each day starting from March 3rd up until April 20th. Youll then be on the hook for interest moving forward until you completely pay back what you owe.
Usually, carrying a balance also means youll accumulate interest on new purchases immediately.
This makes it all the more important to monitor your spending and only use your credit card for purchases you can afford to pay for at the end of the month.
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How To Calculate Credit Card Interest
Calculating credit card interest is a three-step process. The video above;walks you through;that process in detail, but here’s a general overview of how it;works. If you want to follow along, grab your credit card billing statement. You’ll need some information;from it.
1. Convert;annual rate to daily;rate
Your interest rate is;identified on your statement as the annual percentage rate, or APR.
Since interest is calculated on a daily basis, you’ll need to convert;the APR;to a daily rate. Do that by dividing by 365. Some banks divide by;360; for our purposes, the difference isn’t worth worrying about, as it changes the outcome by only a hair. The;result is called the periodic interest rate, or sometimes the daily periodic rate.
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2. Determine your average daily balance
Your statement will tell you which days are included in the billing period. Your interest charge depends on your balance on each of those days.
You start;with;your unpaid balance; the amount carried over from the previous month. When you make a purchase, the balance goes up; when you make a payment, it goes down.;Using the transaction information on your statement, go;through the billing period, day by day, and;write down;each day’s balance.
Once you’ve got that done, add up all the daily balances and then divide by the number of days in the billing period. The result is your average daily balance.
3. Put it all together
What Is 0% Purchase Apr
When a credit card provides 0% APR it means you don’t have to pay interest on purchases charged to it for some specified amount of timeusually between 12 and 21 months. Once a 0% APR period runs out, the card’s regular ongoing APR will take over. Unless otherwise noted in the terms and conditions, you will still be charged interest on other types of transactions, such as balance transfers and cash advances. It’s possible to get 0% interest on balance transfers too, though this requires a special type of credit card.
A 0% interest rate is not always well advertised by a card issuer. To know for sure whether a card is running this type of promotion, you will need to look at the offer’s Schumer Boxaccessible by clicking ‘Pricing & Terms’ or something similar on a credit card’s bank landing page. The first part of a Schumer Box details a card’s interest rates and interest charges. The APR is broken down by the type of transactiona purchase, a balance transfer or a cash advance.
The 0% APR offer can be terminated if you violate any of the terms and conditions of your credit card agreement. This can happen if, for example, if you fail to make a minimum payment by its due date.
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Calculate The Average Daily Balance
Since peoples credit card balances tend to fluctuate day-to-day, credit card companies calculate how much interest someone owes based on their average daily balance carried over the length of each monthly statement period.
To calculate the average daily balance, youll need to add up your balance for each day and divide that by the number of days in the billing period .
Calculation:
Average daily balance = ÷ Number of days in the billing cycle
In this example:
Average daily balance = ÷ 30 = $1,466.67
Watch Out For Credit Card Fees
- Annual fees
- Late payment fees
- Returned payment fees
All of these fees, as well as the card’s APRs, should be listed in your card agreement. You can also find them online before you apply. If you’re considering a card with an annual fee, weigh that against any value the card might offer via a rewards program or other benefits. Many cards are available without annual fees.
Similarly, if you plan to spend time abroad, you might want to opt for a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
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Your Offer May Be Canceled
If you fail to make at least the minimum payment on time, you may risk your 0% APR being canceled.
For instance, the terms for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express state: “Loss of introductory APR: We may end your introductory APR and apply the penalty APR if you do not pay at least the minimum payment due within 60 days after its payment due date.”; Note:;Balance transfers are no longer offered with the Blue Cash Preferred Card.
How Grace Periods Affect Interest Charges
Every credit card in Canada has a;grace period. This is an amount of time after the last day in a billing period where, if you pay your balance in full, interest charges will not apply to the balance.
The grace period typically ends on the payment due date. In other words, if you pay your balance in full by the due date, the credit card company wont apply interest charges.
The flip side of this is that if you dont pay off the balance;in full;by the end of the grace period, then interest charges apply to the full balance. That includes the part of the balance you paid off. This is the;dark secret;of grace periods on credit cards.
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Do I Owe Interest If I Make The Minimum Payment
If you only make the minimum payment, youll still pay interest. In fact, making just the minimum payment is arguably the least effective way of tackling credit card debt second only to making no payments at all.
Since a minimum payment is typically 3% of your previous balance, most if not all of your minimum payment will go towards paying interest while very little will go towards the actual balance you owe.
If you look closely at your credit card statement, youll even find an estimate of how long it would take you to pay your balance in full if only minimum payments are made. As shocking as it may seem, itll often be several years if not decades.
If you do carry credit card debt, always aim to make more than the minimum payment and consider setting payments up regularly even before you receive your monthly statement. Paying just twice the minimum payment could help you save years of paying interest.
Can Apr Help Me Calculate How Much Ill Pay
Calculating how much youâll pay in pounds per year can get a little complicated, especially when it comes to credit cards. This is because credit cards have flexible repayments , and your provider will usually calculate interest on a monthly or daily basis. So, the amount of interest you pay annually depends on how your balance fluctuates over the year.
For example, if you repay your credit card balance in full and on time every month, you wonât pay any interest at all â no matter what your APR is.
So, APR can be a good way to compare credit cards, but remember that what you actually pay in interest depends on how and when you pay your debt off.
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Divide Your Card’s Annual Percentage Rate To Get The Periodic Rate
Next, you’ll want to find the periodic rate, which helps you understand how much interest you’re paying on a balance per period.
If your issuer uses a daily balance, you’ll divide the APR by 365 days. If the APR is compounded monthly, divide it by 12 months. For example, an APR of 14.99% compounded daily would have a periodic rate of = 0.00041, or 0.041%. This percentage is your periodic rate, which is the APR divided by the number of periods in your balance.
Periodic rate
What Is Apr On A Credit Card
APR should be advertised on all borrowing products, from;;and loans to mortgages.
As part of industry regulations,;all lenders calculate APR the same way. To make it easier to compare loan products, APR takes into account any additional fees and how often you’re charged interest.
Our repayment calculator shows you:
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The total cost of your credit card
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How much interest you’ll pay on the debt
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How quickly you could clear the balance by changing your monthly repayment amount
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Find Your Average Daily Balance
To find your average daily balance, you’ll need to know precisely what your end-of-day balance was each day within a billing cycle. This can be the most difficult part of calculating your interest, as your balance may change day-to-day, and can get especially complicated if you use your card frequently.
For example, let’s assume you had a $300 balance on your card for the first three days, a $500 balance for the next 15 days and finally up to $1,000 for the last seven days. Your average daily balance would be $616. This number is calculated using the following formula:
Average daily balance
/ total number of days in the billing cycle
What Is A Good Purchase Apr For A Credit Card
Ideally, you want the APR on any card where you carry a balance to be somewhere between 12-17%. Of course, you will need excellent credit to qualify for such low rates, even on low interest cards. If you have fair or good rate, you at least want to aim for a credit card APR of 20% or less.
The reason for this is that you want the lowest APR possible to apply to a balance that you pay back over time. Reward credit cards are less rewarding if you allow interest charges to apply. In fact, the value of any rewards you earn are usually offset by interest charges within the first 2-3 billing cycles. Ideally, you should pay off reward balances in-full every month to avoid interest charges entirely.
But for big purchases or expensive times of the year , use your lowest APR credit card. That way, you throw less money away on interest charges.
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If You Have A Credit Card Chances Are You’ve Seen The Term Annual Percentage Rate But You May Wonder What That Means Cnbc Select Explains What Apr Is And More Key Terms To Know
Selects editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We may receive a commission when you click on links for products from our affiliate partners.
If you have a credit card, chances are you’ve seen the term annual percentage rate , but you may wonder what that means.
The term APR is often used interchangeably with interest rate, though it can sometimes differ depending on the credit product. For the sake of credit cards, the APR and interest are typically the same amount.
When you sign up for a credit card, it’s important to know the various APRs, since it can have a big impact on how much you owe if you carry a balance month to month.
Below, CNBC Select reviews the different types of APRs, what impacts them, where to find your APR and how you can avoid interest charges.
Here’s How Apr Can Cost You
According to Experian, the average credit card balance in 2020 was $5,315. If you had a credit card APR of 16% and only made the minimum payments, you could pay more than $6,500 in interest over the life of the card. That’s more than the amount you actually borrowed.
“Credit card interest can greatly impact a consumer’s ability to repay what was borrowed, if they are not careful,” said Shanté Nicole, a credit coach and the founder of Financial Common Cents. “It’s imperative to remain in control of your spending, ensuring that you have the funds to repay what was borrowed the moment the bill is due, and not depending on the minimum payments to keep you afloat. Each month the balance is carried beyond the due date, interest is charged, which can result in much deeper debt than the borrower intended.”
The faster you pay off your balance, the less money there is to accrue interest, and therefore the less interest you’ll pay over the life of the debt. Ideally, you’ll pay your balance in full to avoid interest altogether, but if you can’t pay more than the minimum to reduce interest charges.
“Credit cards should only be used for things you already have the money for,” Nicole said. “This way, you’re guaranteed to never pay interest. Once you borrow money for a purchase, pay in full on the due date. No balance is carried over and no extra fees are being paid.”
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