0 Apr Card Credit Student

I am going to Japan next summer, and will be needing extra cash.
Im going to bring my credit card with 1k on it for expenses. But I also want another credit card with another at least 1k on it for more expenses and food.

I see a lot that say 0% APR for first 6 months (on purchases and transfers etc)
Is that interest? does that mean that if I buy something today, it wont charge me interest until 6 months pass?

Does that also mean. that if i get the card today. but i dont make any purchases on it until June 2008(9 months) will the 0% apr still count? does it start from when i get it..or from my first purchase?
in response to first answer.

I was originally going to increase my limit. but since im planning on spending $2000 in japan. im not sure if the 0% apr first 6 months is better..than just having normal interest.

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2007-10-10 15:39:35 by Sophia B.

I am researching credit cards, to basically sign up for my first one so i can build credit. I dont plan on using it except for like 2 times a years.. to actually build the credit. Anyways what is a good APR have the whole gimick of 0% APR after 6 months.

If you are only going to use it a couple of times a year, then you should not worry about the interest rate. Assuming you do not have a credit history (or much of one), being a college student gives you the opportunity to get approved for credit cards that others (those not in school with no credit history) do not have access to.

When I was in school, credit card companies would set up tables all over campus and offer a free t-shirt or whatever if you applied for their card. Now is a good time to start your credit history but BE CAREFULL AND USE IT WISELY!

2006-12-11 19:00:24 by embabe232

I remember reading about credit card companies raising the APR rate on customers to as high as 30 percent (the default rate) even if you are on time with them but have defaulted with another credit card or loan. Would that apply in this situation? Would it make a difference if the credit card APR was fixed or variable?

I would like to transfer a credit card balance to another credit card company because of an 0 percent introductory APR rate, but the new credit card company rate is variable, where as my current company contains a fixed rate.

More specifically, I'm inquiring about US and Connecticut laws regarding this matter. The student loan lender is a bank located in SD, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!
Thank you for the quick responses. I would like to leave positive ratings but yahoo says I don't have enough points. Hopefully the community will take care of it for you.

There are laws that cover this under the recently passed Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights. The new law will go into affect in Feb 2010. Some of the new rules go into affect 90 days after the bill was signed by the President.

BUT, prior to this bill being signed many banks changed the rate from fixed to variable. It was listed in the fine print in a notice sent along with your statement.

You can tell if your rate is variable as there will be the following (v) before the APR on your statement.

Rate increases: A cardholder’s annual percentage rate generally cannot be increased unless a written warning is provided 45 days in advance. No rate increase can take place until the account has been open a year. These provisions take effect 90 days after the bill is signed into law.

Hope this helps answer your question

2009-09-07 06:32:38 by speedoftime

Recently, I found out that I needed to come up with about $1,500 each quarter (every 3 months) to attend grad school. Since my school does not participate in Federal student loans, I had to search for available private loans. The thing is I realized these private loans have an already set up repayment plan that would make me pay about $21,000 for borrowing only $9,000 ($12,000 in interest). The best one I saw was about $18,000 (2x the amount borrowed) – way too much in interest.

I was thinking about paying the $1,500 using either my 0% or 8.9% APR credit card, and start paying more than the minimum payment due (say about $160) per month. I calculated that I will pay less in interest that way, probably only $3,000.

What do you think? Is it always better to go with a student loan?

I think you have the right idea.

One of the best things I ever started doing was transferring balances between credit cards. When I started doing that, the cards that I had just "paid off" lowered my interest rates and gave me excellent balance transfer offers to get my business back.

Within the last 6 months, I consolodated my debt with a credit card at 1.9% interest until the balance was paid off + a one time $75 fee for the transfer (I was actually going to pay off my car with the same balance transfer as they offered, but I wasn't prepared for an APR that low).

The thing now is that man y credit cards charge you a fee to transfer the balance. You have to calculate the cost out to figure out if it is worth taking the 6 month 0% balance with a $100 transfer fee or if you are better off keeping it on your current card at 8.9%.

Open up a credit card or two if you need a few more to transfer between. If you pick up a copy of Kiplinger's personal finance, every month they have a list of companies with the best promotional credit card rates as well as a list of cards with the best permanent rates.

The only exception to the credit card plan is if the private loans have deferrments if you go back to school. If so, what you can do is put everything on the private loans. When you graduate, start paying the loans. After about 6 months, go back to school. If you are working someplace with tuition reimbursement, take it. If you have to take up a 2-year degree at a technical college, do it. During the deferrment, keep up your payments. Your payments will be interest free so to speak. Everything you pay will go toward the principle.

Good Luck. I wish you the best in your studies.

2007-06-07 03:22:16 by Shola

lets assume i can find a way to have my credit card pay for my direct loans. credit card is 0% apr for 12 months and loans is 3.5% fixed. Assuming i can pay off everything in 12 months, should i do it? does it look bad on my credit report since students loans are "legit" while credit cards are "debt"?

That is one of the worst things you can do. Student loan rates are very low compared with consumer credit rates. Even if you have an introductory rate of 0%, the rate will go up and at that point, you have no way to convert that debt back to student loan debt. Also, student loans don't affect your credit score the way that credit card debt does. Don't do it.

2006-09-12 08:22:48 by VanillaIce