I got yet another bulk mailer today for yet another bank’s zero interest credit card. I’m not sure why I still get these since like so many others I’m digging out of a deep dark credit hole. But still they come, every month.
I guess they must think that I’m still a prime candidate for one of these interest free credit cards. I do have some balances left on some other cards so maybe these banks just covet those balances and don’t really care about my current FICO score. It doesn’t matter though because I always do the same thing with these offers when they come. I rip the envelope in half (un-opened) and toss them in the trash. And maybe I give them a little salute as they disappear into the bottom of the can – just for good measure. You see I learned the hard way that these offers aren’t really going to benefit me at all.
In the first place, they have short life-spans. Most of the zero percent interest credit cards have offers that are well under a year in length. Some are as low as three months. That means the zero interest expires rather quickly and you’re back to some “nominal” interest rate.
Then there are all the rules you have to obey perfectly in order to keep the rate. You can’t be late with a payment, even once. You can’t let your balance climb over your stated limit, even once. And you usually have to transfer over a good-sized balance from another card to even qualify for the rate in the first place.
If you’re not cautious, you can screw up and lose that zero interest rate in a heartbeat; then when that happens the real fun begins.
You see, the credit card companies can jump your rate to whatever they want to. It can go from zero to 29.99% faster than a Formula One race car. Plus they can tack on late fees or over-limit fees to boot. What you can end up with then is a bigger credit hole than when you started. I don’t see any benefit in that.
Instead of risky credit cards, I’ve been using reloadable prepaid debit cards. I made the switch a while back and haven’t regretted it once. It’s much better to pay for things with money you have now instead of credit that you have to pay interest on later. I’ve never looked back.
So when the zero interest credit card offers come in the mail I just take a pass. I know they’re really not for me. I guess you could say that I just have “zero interest.”
