What does 0% APR on a Credit Card for the first year really mean?

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by Jeo123

I usually like paying it off one month prior to the promo ending.

That's the safe way to do it. And set up monthly autopay on the card as well for at least the minimum monthly payment, and schedule the autopayment to occur several days before the payment is actually due, so you don't accidentally make a late payment before the 12 months' grace period is over and trigger interest.

There's nothing wrong with using a 0% APR teaser rate on a credit card to pay a big purchase off over time instead of all at once for cash flow reasons. I did it a few months ago to take advantage of a rare sale on some expensive furniture for my dining room, a sale that unfortunately happened to coincide with my being lower-than-usual on cash. But you have to be smart about how you do it, or you can get badly burned.

[harry chickpea]

Yep. When I have done that, I also paid off one month early and made sure to NOT use the card that final month, just to clear it completely. I also paid one or two dollars more than the minimum each month. Knowing how computer programs work, I'm pretty sure there is a tag for people who make only the very minimum payment. Whether or not that might ding a credit score might be less important than the way the account shows up on a customer representative's screen when you have a problem. Representatives can just do the job, or be really helpful if you show up the right way.