Barclaycard Platinum - interest free period 7 March 2022 at 9:35PM edited 7 March 2022 at 9:46PM in Credit file & ratings 5 replies 146 views

Brokenlynx

Hi, 

I'm looking to apply for a Barclaycard Platinum card (up to 24 months interest free on purchases) , I have a couple of questions. 

The following appears on their site under the summary of rates: 

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/platinum-purchase

Interest Free Period
Maximum 56 days from the date of any new transaction including balance and money transfers on a promotional rate that have been added to your account since your last statement if you pay your main balance (excluding any promotional balance with a 0% interest rate) and any monthly instalment plan payments (if you've taken out any instalment plans) in full and on time each month.
Note - Your main balance is your current statement balance less any instalment plan balance.

Does this mean that if I make a purchase on the card during the interest free period that I have only 56 days from the date of the transaction to pay it off in full?

I've always been under the impression that the interest free period provides a period where I'm able to purchase and spread payments up to the end of the period. For instance making a £2400 purchase in month 1 and then spreading the value of that transaction (£100/month) over the 24 month interest free period. Is this assumption correct?

An additional question I have is with respect to credit limit, I've not completed a credit card application in a while and was wondering if I can set it during the application process or is it set on my behalf based on my credit rating?

Thanks,

[Deleted User]

No. It depends on when you make the transaction. You need to clear in full to avoid interest being charged.

But while you're in the promo period, you'll be charged interest at 0%.

Your credit limit is set according to your risk, as assessed by the lender.

Brokenlynx

Thanks for the speedy response. 

When you say it depends on when you make the transaction, could an example £5,000 transaction be spread over 5 months if the £1,000/month payment was more than the minimum required each month?

Also what does the 56 days in the summary statement refer to?

moneysavinggirl40

You can set to pay it off by direct debit, ask it to take minimum or you can set your own fixed amount each month or pay off full balance.I recommend setting up direct debit so you dont miss a payment. Just make sure you have enough to pay off full balance before 0%promotion ends and pay it off to avoid any additional charges, as you come out of 0% period. 56 days from when you purchased appears on statement till date u have to pay on your statement. If you're on eg.24 month 0%promotional period you won't get charged interest for 24months as long as you pay minimum and on time, (whatever date your statement says)

Ebe_Scrooge

Brokenlynx said:

Thanks for the speedy response. 

When you say it depends on when you make the transaction, could an example £5,000 transaction be spread over 5 months if the £1,000/month payment was more than the minimum required each month?

Also what does the 56 days in the summary statement refer to?

Your question is actually referring to 2 different things.

Firstly, the "up to 56 days interest free".  This is standard across all cards.  As long as you pay the full outstanding balance when the statement arrives, you won't be charged interest.  So, using made-up dates for illustration ... you make a purchase on 1st March.  Your statement is produced on 30th March, with a "payment due" date of 26th April.  If you pay the FULL statement balance on or before 26th April, you won't be charged interest.  So you'll have effectively "borrowed" the money for your purchase on 1st March for 56 days, without paying any interest.

If you make a purchase on 29th March, it'll still appear on the statement produced on 30th March, and will need paying by 26th April, so in that scenario you'll have only benefited from 26/27 days of interest-free borrowing.

That's how all credit cards work.  But you've also been offered a promotional interest-free period of 24 months, which "overrides" the standard interest-charging, if you want to look at it that way.  So you buy something on 1st March, and you won't be charged any interest on that purchase for 24 months.

You must continue to make at least the minimum payment every month, which will be detailed on your statement (miss a payment and the promotional rate will usually be immediately withdrawn, and you'll revert to paying their standard APR).  And you must plan to clear the full balance by the time the promotional rate expires - otherwise any remaining balance will revert to the standard APR, with no guarantee that you'll be able to shift it to another card.

Finally, check the "purchase window" (which will be in the T&Cs).  Some cards will offer 24 months interest free on any purchases made during the first 90 days of opening the card.  Some will charge 0% on any purchases made during the entire 24 months (though if you buy something in month 23, you'd only have 1 month left of the 0% promotional period).  It'll be clearly stated in the T&Cs.

Brokenlynx

@Ebe_Scrooge @moneysavinggirl40  much appreciated, great answers, thanks!