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

Tinkywinks108

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.

ceredigion

Which card did you apply for ?

[Deleted User]

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

But how long is the promo, 22 25 or 28 months

Ben8282

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.

Tinkywinks108

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

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

Tinkywinks108 wrote: »

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.

Tinkywinks108

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

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

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

Tinkywinks108

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.