Is this 0% interest? First time applying for credit card

I'm applying for a credit card for the very first time and am a bit nervous about getting it wrong!

I want to use it to pay for a holiday, and want to pay back with 0% interest.

So I've applied online to Tesco and it looks as though I've been accepted. Trawling through the t&c's...and I'm obviously misunderstanding as some of the statements seem to contradict one another. I'm not sure if I qualify for 0% interest at all, or if I'll only get 0% for one month or 51 days or what!

It states:

1. HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE ME?
1.1 Interest
Introductory Rates (all fixed)Monthly RateAnnual Rate (simple)
Purchases for 1 months from account opening0.000 %0.000 %
Balance transfers for 1 months from account opening0.000 %0.000 %

and then:

Interest Free Period
Maximum 51 days for purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time, and have paid the previous month's balance in full and on time.

and then:

You will not pay interest on new purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time.

Comments

  • ceredigion
    ceredigion Posts: 3,709 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    Which card did you apply for ?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    You've got the right card. There's a 0% promo rate.


    You get charged interest if you don't clear in full each month. So if you don't clear your balance in the first month, you'll get charged interest - at a rate of 0%. Which will work out as roughly....£0 interest.


    And so on, until the promo rate expires. Then, if you still don't clear your balance in full, you'll get charged interest at the go to rate. which will be roughly...quite a bit more than £0.
  • ceredigion
    ceredigion Posts: 3,709 Forumite
    First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    But how long is the promo, 22 25 or 28 months
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post Newshound!
    edited 12 March 2017 at 9:56PM
    ceredigion wrote: »
    But how long is the promo, 22 25 or 28 months
    From the info provided by the OP it would appear that the promo period is 1 month from date of account opening for balance transfers and 1 month from date of account opening for purchases.
    Completely useless.
    This does not correspond to anything offered by Tesco although the low rate card does only give 1 month on purchases but no mention of balance transfers.
    As the OP obviously needs a 0% purchases card if they want to repay the holiday over a period of time at 0%, not sure why they applied for this particular card.
    Again, if it really is their very first credit card, they were very lucky to get the low rate card and could not really have any realistic expectation of getting a long 0% offer.
  • Ben8282 wrote: »
    From the info provided by the OP it would appear that the promo period is 1 month from date of account opening for balance transfers and 1 month from date of account opening for purchases.
    Completely useless.
    This does not correspond to anything offered by Tesco although the low rate card does only give 1 month on purchases but no mention of balance transfers.
    As the OP obviously needs a 0% purchases card if they want to repay the holiday over a period of time at 0%, not sure why they applied for this particular card.
    Again, if it really is their very first credit card, they were very lucky to get the low rate card and could not really have any realistic expectation of getting a long 0% offer.


    The reason I applied for this card is because it was on Martin's list of 0% interest cards (and I used his link). I can only guess that my credit score was not high enough and so it offered me this useless one month 0% interest deal.
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    edited 12 March 2017 at 11:36PM
    Ben8282 wrote:
    This does not correspond to anything offered by Tesco
    Why do you say that? It's on their website here...

    http://www.tescobank.com/credit-cards/low-apr/apply.html

    It's also on the MSE main site. See below.
    although the low rate card does only give 1 month on purchases but no mention of balance transfers
    Mention of one month 0% on BTs can be seen in the summary box here...

    http://www.tescobank.com/assets/sections/credit-cards/pdf/tesco-bank-cc-low-apr-summary-box.pdf?_=cachebuster04082016
    The reason I applied for this card is because it was on Martin's list of 0% interest cards (and I used his link). I can only guess that my credit score was not high enough and so it offered me this useless one month 0% interest deal.
    The card you've got is shown towards the bottom of the page on the MSE guide here...

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-0-credit-cards

    Can you be absolutely certain you applied for the correct card? Maybe ask Tesco directly whether they supplied a different card altogether, or whether you did indeed inadvertently apply for the wrong card.
  • Can you be absolutely certain you applied for the correct card? Maybe ask Tesco directly whether they supplied a different card altogether, or whether you did indeed inadvertently apply for the wrong card.

    Oh YorkshireBoy...I think you've solved the mystery. I think I must have clicked on the wrong link and applied for the wrong card! :embarasse Although I think I click on the Tesco link in the 'Best Buys' table, but even so I've just noticed it says 'up to 28 mths' at 0% whereas the others have fixed periods.

    I've now applied for the Virgin one and seem to have been successful. Thanks for your help!
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post Newshound!
    WOW
    First ever credit card application
    never had a card before
    and OP gets a Tesco low rate and a Virgin card one after the other
    You are very lucky OP
  • Ben8282 wrote: »
    WOW
    First ever credit card application
    never had a card before
    and OP gets a Tesco low rate and a Virgin card one after the other
    You are very lucky OP

    Really? That's odd. It's not like I earn loads and actually only started my job in January. I've only borrowed money from my bank and have repaid on time which I guess would help my credit score...??

    I didn't complete the application for the Tesco card by the way. I applied, but didn't agree to T&Cs/press submit.
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