0% purchase card enquiry

schtee

Hi,

I've been looking at the Virgin Money All Round Credit Card which is 0% on purchases for 25 months. Now please pardon my ignorance but does this literally mean provided I pay the minimum repayments anything I buy in the 25months will be interest free?

The reason I ask is in the summary box for this card theres the paragraph that the interest free period is maximum 50 days for purchases, this is similar with other cards too and I find it contradictory to what they're supposedly offering.

Does anyone have this card or similar?

Many thanks,

Steve

[Deleted User]

The summary box isn't contradictory.

If you don't clear your balance in full each month, you will be charged interest. At the rate of 0%.

Dobbibill

The 0% will apply for the first 25 months.

Providing you don't carry a balance when the 0% period runs out then you will have the 'up to scenario' you describe, which is standard for most CCs.
ie spent 1 month, pay in full on due date = no interest charged.

chattychappy

Actually, I agree with the OP, the wording does sound contradictory. To say "maximum" interest free period of 50 days... and then say it will be 0% on purchases for 25 months...

But zx81's way of looking at it is the way to stay out of trouble, particularly as the deal comes to an end. Pay in full, you won't get interest on purchases. Pay anything less than the full balance, you will be charged interest at the prevailing rate. Which will be 0% for 25 months.

It's a great offer... if you don't go mad!

schtee

Thanks for the swift responses guys. As ever, it's very much appreciated.

Kayalana99

chattychappy wrote: »

Actually, I agree with the OP, the wording does sound contradictory. To say "maximum" interest free period of 50 days... and then say it will be 0% on purchases for 25 months...

But zx81's way of looking at it is the way to stay out of trouble, particularly as the deal comes to an end. Pay in full, you won't get interest on purchases. Pay anything less than the full balance, you will be charged interest at the prevailing rate. Which will be 0% for 25 months.

It's a great offer... if you don't go mad!

It is, but same time you get 50 days of interest free credit from the first day of purchase don't you? It has nothing to do with what interest rate the card is but if you make a purchase on the 1st of April and the statement doesn't come out till the 1st of May, then you have 20 days to pay it before any interest is charged etc (random dates)...then it is charged at the interest rate which just happens to be 0% if you don't pay it in full by then.

I guess it depends how you read it, but it makes perfect sense at the same time!

chattychappy

The "up to 50 days" thing is linked to paying in full.

The intro offer is not linked to anything*. There is no "gotcha". If you pay off your balance one day after expiry day, you will only get one day's interest. On the other hand, with the "up to 50 days" thing, if you pay the balance just one day after the due date, then you will pay interest right back to the transaction day (plus late payment fees if the minimum was late too).

(* the exception is you must stick to the agreement. Being late with a minimum payment or going over the limit can mean the offer is terminated. Some CCs will negotiate on a first offence, but no guarantee.)

bolton_joe

The 'up to 50 days' is a standard term in any card agreement (although number of days varies) and applies for the lifetime of your card. All it is is the longest time possible that you may borrow on a transaction if you spend on day one of your billing cycle. So you get about 30 days until the next statement and a further 20 days after that to pay.

The promo period is unaffected. You are right in your understanding that spend will be interest free for the duration. I would check the details though! Sometimes only spend in the first 3/6 months qualifies!!

So if you spend after that period you no longer get the 0% benefit (it continues to apply to the original spend)!

phillw

One thing you have to watch out for is that 0% interest for 25 months & no interest for up to 50 days as long as you clear the balance can cause you to pay interest when you don't expect.

If your 0% will run out on 1st May 2018 and your statement is created on the 15th of every month, if you pay the minimum balance every month and then pay the full statement balance on the 31st April then you will be charged interest if you use the card again before the next statement. This is because you aren't entitled to the 50 days interest free because you hadn't cleared your balance. It doesn't matter that the balance was at 0%.

When you phone to make the payment it's worth confirming that you aren't going to be charged any interest. I got caught out by this and because I then cleared the entire balance and setup a full payment DD they agreed to refund the interest.

dave99tee

I was looking at the Credit Card Eligibility Calculator yesterday and for the Virgin Offer I had 100% Pre-Approval...today when I looked it was 95%. Is this calculator reliable?