Close or keep cards after 0% ends?

w111y

I have 3 credit cards. 2 are old that I keep for emergencies and 1 I use which is 0% on purchases. The 0% is coming to an end. So I just keep the 3 cards as back up and apply for a new one, close 2 of them and just keep 1 as a back up or is it possible to get a new 0% on purchases rate on one of the cards I already have?

Ebe_Scrooge

It depends a lot on your credit history and the limits on the cards.  With a good history you may well be able to successfully apply for another 0% purchase card - although lenders have become a lot stricter with their criteria in the last year.  But having 3 cards is not generally seen as excessive - the usual advice is just to keep them, use them when needed and always repay in full.  Long-standing accounts reflect positively on your credit history, as does regular use and always repaying in full.  Is there a specific reason that you need a 0% card?

w111y

I just want a 0% card to pay for unexpected things (just had a big repair bill for my car) or expensive purchases that will take longer than a month to pay off. 

My credit history is really good. I never miss payments and don’t have a lot of debt except mortgages but do regularly use my 0% card and pay it all off

Ebe_Scrooge

Not meaning to sound "holier-than-thou", but I fear you may be misunderstanding how 0% cards work.  They charge 0% interest on purchases made during the first few months.  Each card will be different, but a typical offer might be 0% on all purchases made during the first 3 months of opening the card.  The 0% rate is then applied for, let's say, 18 months.  So the typical way to use this would be to open the card, buy a new TV pretty much as soon as the card is active, then pay off the balance over the next 18 months.

If the card you're using charges interest, then you need to clear the balance in full every month to avoid incurring interest.  But if it's on a 0% promotional rate, you only need to pay the minimum each month - though it's very important that you have money put aside to clear the remaining balance when the promotional rate ends.

The problem with applying for a 0% card and keeping it "just in case" is that, by the time you need to use it you may well find that the window for making qualifying purchases has expired.  Not a huge problem as such, but it does mean that you'll be charged interest if you don't clear the balance in full every month.

Each card is different, and each offer is different - there may well be offers available whereby you can make qualifying purchases for the whole period of the promotional rate.  But it's more common to see qualifying purchases restricted to a short period after opening the account.  You just need to make sure you read and understand the T&Cs.  I hope this is helpful.