The zero percents are great. I just got an offer from WaMu for 0% on transfers for a full year. so far,its been easy to find other 0% rates once the first ones dry up -- but that seems to be changing.

--Peter Planchet

i have used these, the companys offer 0% to tempt you in. If your smart you can use it to you benefits and pay off debts interest free. when the 0% runs out just find another one in the UK its called being a rate tart

Too many applications can have an effect on your credit score though, better to look for one with a low APR and stick to it. If you pay off your card every month it doesn't matter what the APR is since the company can't charge you interest.

0% credit cards may, or may not charge a transfer fee. It will depend on the bank, and the offer they want to give to you. Time will also vary from 3-12 months typically before the rate increases, and some will still offer a very reasonable rate if you are a good credit risk. Read the fine print before you apply for the card. Once you receive the card, see if it still is what you expected it to be. It is very common for an advertisement to say one thing (up to $5000 limit), and the actual offer to be different (Approved for $1000) once they review your credit file. If you do not like the final offer, refuse the card and do not use it. Contact the offering bank and let them know (or cut it and mail it back). They will have nothing to report on the credit file so it will not impact your credit score.

Also Beware: Some collection companies will work with banks to send out a card and old debt will be transfered to the new card automatically. This will pay off the old debt, which you may not have intended, giving it new activity on your credit report, and a card you cannot use. Know who you are dealing with. Other tricks include sending you several cards with small limits, annual fees, initiation fees, credit insurance fees, and more. A $300 card will max out the first time you use it and now you have over limit fees, unpaid balance fees, and possibly late fees when it is more than you expected. Yet next week, they will send you another $300 limit card to charge you fees all over again. Some banks are making huge profits, in fact their primary income is now from these fees.

So, how/why would they only charge 0% interest? The fees are just part of the answer. Another part of the answer is the rate hike. If you are late on your payment, even an hour (they may have a 12 noon cutoff), your rate will jump to the maximum amount, sometimes as much as the high 20's or even into the 30% ranges. They have it all figured out how to get as many as possible to miss these due dates and times. You think you have the weekend, or a holiday to give a day? Guess again. This is one time where the bank is not closed for business. And that late payment does not even have to be with this card! IT COULD BE WITH ANY ACCOUNT THAT REPORTS TO THE CREDIT BUREAU! They use what they call universal credit reporting, which means any lates, with anyone, count against your rate.

But that is also just part of the answer to 0% interest. The biggest thing is... The money didn't cost them anything to get! In fact, the more credit they show on their books, the more money they can get to loan to someone else. This is a bit complicated, but it is called fractal lending. Banks are only required to keep a small % of their total assetts on hand. Each time they write a credit card contract, they are allowed to show that entire amount on their books. Even though you have not used the entire $5000 limit, they show it as though you did, because you could at any time. This gives them the ability to artificially inflate the banks net assets, and since they only need a small percent of the money to stay in-house, they trade those book credits to the Federal Reserve for hard dollars to loan out. The cycle repeats itself over and over many times and it didn't require the bank to raise any capital of its own, to have millions to loan out.

Most of the time it will be an intro rate only for a few months but is good to take advantage while you can.

It will bite you like a shark.

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I got my Citi Visa years ago through a promotion for 12 months 0% interest. It was wonderful because I had just paid off all my debt, cancelled my other credit cards, and I was looking for something to help me start rebuilding. I got this card, used it monthly and paid it off in full - so I guess the 0% didn't really matter.

But if you're looking to transfer debt to pay off quicker, I'm assuming this would be a great deal because then you're not paying interest like you would be normally.

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Good info in this post. I have been transferring a balance for a couple of years now and basically follow these guidelines:
1) Make sure the 0% period is for at least a year;
2) No transaction fee + no purchase using card required;
3) Cancel old account -- I do keep one account w/ no balance -- been having it since college;
4) Don't make any stupid purchases on credit like I did;

So far, this process has worked fine & my credit rating has not suffered.

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sorry, i have no experince.

The 0% interest rate is usually for just a few short months, and after that you'll get an interest rate around the average credit card interest rate, which is quite high. You should consider if it's worth the hassle of transferring the funds, potentially paying transfer fees, etc.

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