0% Purchases CC- n00b question- How do they work?

st182

Hi All,
New here so hello- and please bear with me!
I am looking at 0% on purchases credit cards, I have never had one before.
It’s a simple question I have- if a card is advertised as having 27 months 0% on purchases, with no other notes- does that actually mean everything you purchase on that card in the first 27 months is at 0% until the offer goes off? And once the offer goes off the entire balance for those purchases reverts to the cards normal rate at say 20% or so?
That’s the way I’ve read it, but whilst looking at offers I noticed one card had 0% for 28 months but a note saying “all purchases to be made in the first 3 months.”
I assume that if this is the case, it is usually stated? I use the MSE recommendations to choose a card.
Thanks in advance
PS great site, great members- ive been reading a long time, happy to be joining in :beer:

onlyfoolsandparking

Yes if you apply and get a 0% purchase card for 28 months, everything you purchase will be at 0% for the full 28 months, the one which says all purchases to me made in the first 3 months could possibly mean what you think it does although I have not come across that before.


It usually means 28 months at 0% on BT,s made in the first 3 months but all purchases are 0% for the full 28 months, you need to read the T&C,s in more detail.

chattychappy

I have seen cards where it's interest free for 24 months on purchases made during the first 3 months.

In this case, anything purchased after 3 months will attract interest, whereas purchases already made will continue to be interest free. I think that this is more common for cards offering both 0% BT and 0% on purchases.

Remember that although they are interest free, you still have to keep up with the minimum payments. It is worth paying a little more than the minimum to avoid a "minimum payment" marker at the CRA.

st182

Superb! Many thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it.
I think as I hadn’t seen a deal like that before it made me question my understanding of how they worked altogether- and yes of course, if I’m in doubt check the t’s and c’s- I feel a bit silly for not doing that in the first place if I’m honest!
Looks like I’ll be going for virgin or barclaycard- I’ve used barclaycard in the past and they seemed good to deal with, so I’ll probably choose them.
Thanks again for the prompt responses folks

Dobbibill

Worth noting, they can offer less than the advertised period too.

EG - you may apply for 28 months and only get 18 months.

Sea_Shell

You can also reach your limit quite quickly if only making minimum payments (as you would on 0%) so you might not be able to "purchase" for the full duration of the offer.

st182

Yes, indeed- good additional food for thought there. Thanks very much folks

st182

Just a quick update and second thank you- it does seem that that card with the (30 days not 3 months as originally stated) was an anomoly, and it was clearly stated in the description, so thanks all for settling my mind at rest 100% how these cards work before application.

I now have a new card winging its way to me, so all sorted this end :T cheers folks! :beer: