Have you received offers for 0% credit cards? You are not alone! As a matter of fact, 0% interest credit cards are a hot commodity on the Internet, and their popularity would indicate that they are a great thing to carry in your wallet. Yet in spite of their popularity in some circles, a 0% credit card is not always such a great deal. Many of the advertised 0% APR credit cards are nothing more than your average card that offers a brief period of no interest only to revert back to high rates within a few short months. These kinds of 0% credit cards are often referred to as having a teaser rate, since the zero percent credit cards sound good on paper and thus lure many consumers to apply for them. When the rate goes up within a short period of time, the consumer usually realizes that their 0% interest credit card is more costly than some of the others she or he is carrying.

At other times it is the credit card you are already carrying that is temporarily transforming into a zero percent credit card – but not for all charges. 0% balance transfer credit cards may be sometimes applied for, but your current card may also send you a number of convenience checks which must be used by a certain date and if you decide to transfer the balance of another loan or credit card to this card with the help of the convenience check, you will reap the same benefits on the transferred balance as though you had it on one of the 0% credit cards. Of course, if you consider that there is a hefty convenience check writing fee – usually about 5% of the balance you are writing the check for – you will need to do the math to see if the benefits of the 0% credit cards are truly outweighing the costs of this little luxury.

All in all, most 0% credit cards are little more than cards with teaser rates, and even a cursory perusal of the 0% credit card offers shows quickly that a 0% APR credit card does not remain a credit card at 0% interest for long. Other times the fine print indicates that only certain charges qualify for the zero percent interest; credit cards are also known to have rather quick cut off dates, and if a purchase authorization comes through after the expiration of your 0% interest credit card transfer offer, you may have to go head to head with the customer service department of the issuing bank to still have it included in the offer. If you do sign up for a 0% credit card remember to not transfer more balance to the card than you can pay off before the time period expires and do not use credit cards with 0% APR for everyday purchases simply because it looks cheap. In the end you may finance a jar of mayonnaise for five years simply because you are unable to pay off the whole balance!