Best 0% APR Credit Cards of October 2024

Short Review of Best Credit Cards for 0% APR

Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

Earning rewards when dining and having fun, and not having to worry about a high APR? It’s possible with the Capital One SavorOne. This card has a 15-month 0% APR period for purchases and transfers, after the APR is 19.99% - 29.99%. It also offers great value as a rewards card, with an unlimited 3% cash back for restaurants, entertainment, streaming services and at grocery stores.

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Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you want a simple, flat-rate rewards card with an intro offer on purchases, the Capital One Quicksilver offers exactly that. You’ll get a 15-month intro APR on purchases and transfers (the ongoing rate is 19.99% - 29.99%). The rewards program consists of a 1.5 percent cash back rate on all purchases and a $200 welcome bonus (once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening).

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Chase Freedom Unlimited®

With Chase Freedom Unlimited® you’ll get 15 months to pay off your purchase with 0% APR (20.49% - 29.24% Variable after). This card will also earn you great rewards, including a 5% on travel (only if purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards), 3% in restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% on everything else. On top of that, there's a $200 sign-up bonus too (after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months).

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Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Everyday® card would be of great use to families with its generous cash back rates on groceries and gas. Not only they’ll earn rewards by going on with their usual everyday purchases, but the 15-months 0% APR offer will also help them with their next big purchase. After the intro period, there’s a 18.74% - 29.74% APR.

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Citi Simplicity®

As Citi says, this card is keeping it simple – without an annual fee, penalty fees, and late fees, but with a great 0% APR offer for 12 months on purchases and 21 months on balance transfers. After the introductory period, the APR is 19.24% - 29.99%. The lack of penalty and late fees is a useful feature for anyone paying off a debt, however this card doesn’t offer rewards. So, it doesn’t provide much long-term value and there’s no reason to keep it after the intro period.

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Chase Freedom Flex℠

If you want to earn superb rewards while paying zero interest on purchases, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ will give you exactly that. You’ll get 15 months 0% intro APR for purchases and transfers (20.49% - 29.24% Variable after). Each quarter you'll earn 5% in a different bonus category (capped at $1,500 per quarter) and there is also 5% cash back on Lyft and travel booked through Chase Ultimate, 3% on dining out and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. For the $200 sign-up bonus you'll only need to spend $500 in the first three months.

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Citi Diamond Preferred®

The Citi Diamond Preferred® credit card’s features are very similar to its sister card, the Citi Simplicity®. Except with this one, it's a bit less simple as it has late and penalty fees. Despite its extensive 0% APR intro period (12 months for purchases and 21 months for balance transfers), if you are careless with your payments, it can cost you up to a $40 late fee every time, and its penalty APR can get as high as 29.99%. The regular APR on this card is 18.24% - 28.99%.

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U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card

The US bank Visa® Platinum is definitely the best card when it comes to intro APR offers for balance transfers and purchases. The 0% APR period is the longest one out there - an unmatched 18 billing cycles (18.74% - 29.74% after). However, only those with excellent credit should apply for it.

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Understanding interest rates and APRs

You’ve probably noticed that the terms interest rate and APR are used interchangeably when it comes to credit cards. These two are not usually the same, except when we talk about credit cards. We understand it can be confusing, so let’s clear that up. The interest rate is simply the interest charges for your balance. In contrast, the APR is the total cost of borrowing, the interest PLUS all other fees that you'll pay for the loan. For example, mortgage loans have an origination fee, so the lenders have to disclose that fee in the loan's APR. Credit cards are more straightforward with their fees, as all are already separately disclosed (annual fee, cash advance fee, etc.). So in this case, the interest rate is the same as the annual percentage rate (APR).

By far, we’ve only mentioned balance transfer and purchase APRs, but credit cards have other types of APRs too. Generally, you’ll find the following types of APRs:

• Purchase APR – the rate you pay for everyday purchases with your credit card.
• Balance transfer APR – the rate you’ll pay if you transfer a balance from another credit card (8% - 25%).
• Introductory APR – special rate offered to new cardholders, usually for balance transfers, purchases, or both. You’ll pay 0% interest for a set period of time, but remember that once this period ends, the regular APRs kick in.
• Cash advance APR – the rate you’ll pay if you borrow cash with your card from an ATM (around 25%).
• Penalty APR – the rate that’ll be applied if you are late with your payment (up to 29.99%).

As you can see, credit card interest rates can be quite high. So, how do credit card issuers set these rates? You must have noticed that usually the word 'variable' is written next to each card's APR. This means that this card’s APR varies based on the prime rate. The prime rate is the interest rate that banks give to the most creditworthy customers. If this rate goes up, your APR will follow and go up too.

However, the main factor that'll determine what APR you'll get is your credit score. This tells the credit card companies a lot about how you managed money in the past. For example, whether you've paid your bills on time, and the amount of debt you owe. So, if you've been responsible regarding your debt and payments, you can probably expect to get an APR that’s closer to the lower limit. However, if your credit score is less-than-perfect, you might want to hold back from borrowing on your credit card.

Although credit cards with introductory APR offers can be of great value and potentially save you hundreds of dollars, after that period ends, the regular APRs, which are really high, will start applying. Depending on the card, the intro period can also end early if you fail to make the minimum monthly payment even once and can suddenly get very expensive since you’ll have to pay late and penalty fees. The minimum monthly payment is the amount that you have to pay each month so that the credit card company doesn’t mark your account as “past due.”

We do recommend paying an amount that's above your minimum payment, preferably the total amount due. Paying the minimum amount will only save you from paying late fees, but you'll still have to pay interest on the remaining balance. To give you an idea of how costly interest on credit cards can be, consider the following example: You want to purchase a new refrigerator for your home and it costs around $5,000. You can’t pay it upfront, so you decide to put it on your credit card. The interest rate is 16.15% (U.S. average) and you plan to pay it off in total over the course of 12 months, in equal installments. This is how would that look like:

For an appliance that costs $5,000, you’ll have to pay a $413 interest. But if you get a new credit card with a 0% APR on purchases for at least 12 months you can only pay the principal. And the money you'd otherwise pay for interest, you can now use to pay for the refrigerator’s installment.

To sum up, if you want to avoid or reduce the interest cost on credit cards, start with taking advantage of the intro APR offers. As long as you make at least the minimum monthly payments, the 0% rate will keep applying. When the offer ends, be aware of the ongoing APR and try to pay your bill in full, every month. Credit cards will usually give you (at least) 21-day grace period after each statement close date, during which you can pay your balance without interest. Try not to carry a balance from month to month, as that way you can easily accumulate a lot of interest that can potentially cost you hundreds of dollars, as we explained above.

How do 0% APR offers work?

During the introductory APR period, an APR of 0% is applied, which means you won't have to pay interest on new purchases or balance transfers (or both – depends on the card).

The introductory period varies among different credit cards and it usually lasts between 6 and 20 months. The student cards from Discover (Discover it® Student Cash Back and Discover it® Student chrome) have a 6-month 0% APR period on purchases. Although it’s the shortest intro APR offer, it’s still a great benefit for a student card. While the US bank Visa® Platinum holds the throne for the lengthiest intro APR period - 20 billing cycles.

What’s the best way to use a 0% APR credit card?

If you have a balance on a high-interest credit card and want to save money by making a balance transfer, a credit card with a 0% APR offer on balance transfers will help. While a credit card with a 0% APR offer on purchases will benefit you if you're planning an expensive purchase and currently either don't have the cash for that or don't want to take from your savings funds. With the right card, you can pay off your purchase interest-free.

If you want to have a break from interest not only on purchases, but also balance transfers, you can go for a card that has an APR offer for both, like the Wells Fargo Platinum Card.

Whether you get a 0% APR credit card for a purchase or a balance transfer, the best way to use it is to pay back the amount owed in full before the introductory period ends.

How to choose a 0% APR credit card?

We’ll give you a short guideline that will help you choose the credit card that best suits your needs:

1. What’s your need? – A purchase, balance transfer, or both?
2. A long enough intro APR period – Think about the amount of your purchase or balance and how long you’ll need to pay it off. A long enough period is one during which you can pay back everything you owe. Always go for a longer period. For example, if you think that you’ll need around 15 months to pay off the balance or purchase, still go for a card that has an 18-month 0% APR offer.
3. Consider the ongoing APRs – However long, the intro period will once end, so think about the APR you’ll have to pay when that happens.
4. Long-term value and other benefits – Many of the cards on our list, not only offer 0% APR, but also rewards. You should look beyond the intro period and think about how the card can bring you additional value. Here you can find the best credit cards for rewards.

Why do credit cards offer 0% APRs?

As these 0% APR offers sound great to you, you're probably wondering what's in it for the credit card companies. Well, to start with, by offering these intro interest-free periods they attract more customers to sign-up for the card. Also, as you’re not allowed to make a balance transfer on another card from the same issuer, with these offers, credit card companies “steal” customers from competitors while charging you a balance transfer fee.

Lastly, they are also counting on some cardholders to be late with a payment or miss one or more and will have to pay high penalty fees. Some will fail to pay off the whole amount due during the intro period and will have to keep paying when the regular APR is applied.

So, we are rooting for you to be smart and prevent them from profiting from you, by managing your credit card responsibly and keeping in mind all the tips we mentioned throughout this article.