Credit Card info

A credit cards APR is the Annual Percentage Rate of that card. Many cards now begin by offering zero percent interest on either balance transfers, purchases or sometimes both. This initial no interest period can be used to either avoid paying interest on existing loans, or it can be used to make money.

Credit card companies typically charge interest on the entire outstanding balance from the date of purchase if the total balance is not paid in full. A further complication is that cash advances are often charged from the day they are obtained rather than the billing date, and often at a different rate of interest from purchases. Also repayments are often applied to all other transactions before they are applied to cash advances.

Zero interest credit on balance transfers can be used to avoid paying any of the interest on existing loans such as outstanding balances on other credit cards by transferring the balances to the new card. This means that repayments can be applied to reducing the balance rather than paying any interest.

Another use of 0% APR cards is to make money by transferring the available funds to a high-interest bank account, so that the interest becomes profit when the card is repaid before it starts charging any interest. This method can even be applied to forms of profit making other than interest-paying bank accounts, such as business ventures, although this obviously carries significantly more risk and should be done only with extreme caution. It is rumored that the first batch of computer hardware for Google was bought using credit cards, and movies such as Clerks have also been financed in this way.

A credit cards APR is one of the main factors in choosing a card, and can be a quick way of comparing a variety of card offers, but it’s not the only factor in choosing a card, as there can be various fees, and the exact details of the agreement can vary. Also, some cards offer particular rewards, such as air miles or other specific ways one can benefit from using the card.