Does 0%APR for 12 months mean I pay no interest on any purchases as long as I pay them in full within a year?

Question

Does 0%APR for 12 months mean I pay no interest on any purchases as long as I pay them in full within a year?

Answer 1

Yes.  Interest will start after the 12 months is done.

Answer 2

If they are giving you 0% on purchases then yes.  If they are giving you 0% on balance transfers only then no.  Make them tell you which one they are giving you before you try to use it because they will try to trick you.

Answer 3

hmmm, you really have to look at the terms of the  offer.   It really pays to read them carefully.  

For instance, some cards have 0% interest for balance transfers only.  If you then purchase something, that is at the regular purchase rates. The real kicker is that they will credit all payments you make to the 0% amount until that amount is paid off before applying payments to the amounts that are gathering interest.   That allows them to get more interest in the long run.

Some  do allow purchases for a set period at 0%.  If that is the case, you will be safe to purchase at 0%.   It might be wise though to stop making purchases at about 11 months.   That way any delay in posting your purchase won't accidentally cross over into your interest period.   There is a site that has some really good info on credit and teaser rates.  

Best advice is read the offer really closely.  Also watch out for "balance transfer fees" that come with these teaser rates.  They can be a real bummer.

http://www.credit-cards-comparisons.com

Answer 4

You need to provide full details of the offer to fully know the answer to this question.  Be aware one of the primary purposes of these offers is to rip off people who do not read fine print.

The first question is exactly what do you get 0% APR on?  Is it all purchases for 12 months or for an initial balance transfer?  For example, I currently have a card that charges me 0% APR on a balance transfer and cash advance.  This means that if I take a cash advance (or a balance transfer) as long as I pay off the minimum payment due each month there will be no interest for 12 months.  But it has 19% APR on purchases. This means that even in that 12 months if I spend any money on groceries I will pay interest on that.  But here is the kicker - somewhere in the fine print it says that "all monthly payments are applied to the lowest APR balance first".  To illustrate what this means, lets say I initially take a cash advance of $10,000.  Then I buy $50 worth of groceries.  If I make my minimum payment at the end of the first month, it will be applied to the "lowest APR balance" - so the $100 will be applied to the 10,000 (which has 0 APR) and not the $50 (which has 19% APR).  Unless I pay off the 10,000 before the 12 months I will continue to pay exorbitant interest on everything I purchase.

If you have a card like this you will find that as soon as you get the card you will get all these great offers to purchase all kinds of stuff. They can do that because you will pay a ton of interest on it.

They will not break the law but they will hope you don't pay attention and prey on the ignorant or careless.

Answer 5

Not only do you have to pay them in full within a year, you also have to make the minimum monthly payments, and if it is not paid within the 1yr period, the interest will accrue from the beginning of the purchase and be applied from that time... FYI, not a good idea unless you have the cash to pay it off.

Answer 6

yes....but within a year