High-interest credit cards can be poison to your finances when you’re struggling to pay down credit card debt. The antidote: opening a 0% APR credit card.
There are two types of interest-free windows:
- 0% intro APR on new purchases — Any balance you run up on your credit card won’t be charged interest during a defined intro period.
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers — If you relocate a balance from an existing credit card to your new card, you won’t be charged interest on it during a defined intro period.
Many cards offer both options, but for the purposes of this list, we’re looking at cards that waive interest fees for new purchases.
What’s Ahead:
Overview: Best 0% intro APR credit cards for purchases
- Best 0% intro APR credit card: Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
- Best for cash back: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
- Best for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards®: Chase Freedom Flex℠
- Best for earning Capital One miles: Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Best for a big welcome bonus: Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Best for building credit: Chase Slate Edge℠
- Best for balance transfers: Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: Best overall
The no-annual-fee Citi Custom Cash℠ Card has an intro rate APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases (and balance transfers). After that, you’ll be charged 18.99% - 28.99% (Variable) APR, depending on your creditworthiness.
This card is extremely well-rounded. It’s easy to earn points, and the rewards are flexible.
You’ll get $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening.. You’ll also earn 5% back on up to $500 you spend each billing cycle on whichever of the following categories is your top spending category (then 1% back):
- Certain streaming services
- Drugstores
- Fitness clubs
- Gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Home improvement stores
- Live entertainment
- Restaurants
- Specific travel and transit expenses
You’ll earn 1% back on all other purchases, too.
You can redeem Citi ThankYou® points at a rate of 1 cent each for things like cash back, gift cards, and travel (airfare, hotels, rental cars) through the Citi ThankYou® portal.
However, if you’ve also got either the Citi Prestige (which you can no longer apply for) or the Citi Premier® Card, your points can be way more valuable. That’s because these cards allow you to transfer the points you earn with the Citi Custom Cash℠ into airline miles and hotel points — which can be worth more than 2 cents each, depending on how you use them.
Apply for the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card.
Card info has been collected by MoneyUnder30 to help consumers better compare cards. The financial institution did not provide or approve card details.Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: Best for cash back
The no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers a 0% intro APR on purchases (and balance transfers) for 15 months. Then, you’ll be charged the ongoing variable APR after, based on creditworthiness.
This is one of the best cash back credit cards on the market for most of us. That’s because it gives you bonus cash in super popular spending categories:
- 3% cash back with U.S. supermarkets for up to $6,000 in spending each year (then 1%)
- 3% cash back with U.S. gas stations for up to $6,000 in spending each year (then 1%)
- 3% cash back with U.S. online retailers for up to $6,000 in spending each year (then 1%)
- 1% cash back for all other eligible purchases
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday® comes with a $200 statement credit after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening.
There are two other card features worth mentioning. You’ll get monthly statement credits that can be worth up to $264 per year. You’ll have to pay with your card and enroll it in these benefits to get the credits:
- Disney Bundle — If you spend at least $13.99 for the Disney Bundle each month (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+), you’ll get a $7 statement credit.
- Home Chef — Home Chef is a service that delivers meal kits to your door. You’ll get a $15 monthly credit.
Read more: Are Amex Cards Worth It?
Chase Freedom Flex℠: Best for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards®
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 15 months (as well as on balance transfers). Then, you’ll be charged 19.74% - 28.49% Variable APR, based on your creditworthiness.
While Chase tends to market this card’s rewards as “cash back,” they’re actually not. They are Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which can be redeemed for cash back at 1 cent each. But if you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer those points to airline and hotel partners such as Hyatt, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines. It’s possible to get a much better value than a flat 1 cent per point by doing this.
This card is a Chase Ultimate Rewards® points-earning powerhouse. Chase points are one of our favorite credit card rewards currencies because of all the fun things you can do with them.
Here’s what you’ll earn:
- 5% back (5 points per dollar) when you book travel (airfare, hotels, rental cars, etc.) through the Chase Travel Portal
- 5% back (5 points per dollar) on rotating bonus categories each quarter (then 1%) after you activate, for up to $1,500 in purchases — bonus categories usually include things like purchases at grocery stores, Amazon.com, and gas stations
- 3% back (3 points per dollar) on dining and drugstore purchases
- 1% back (1 point per dollar) for all other purchases
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ will also give you the change to earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening..
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for earning Capital One Miles
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a 0% intro APR on purchases (and balance transfers) for 15 months. You’ll then get an ongoing APR of 19.74% - 29.74% (Variable), based on creditworthiness.
The card earns:
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on rental cars and hotels reserved through Capital One Travel
- Earn 3% cash back on dining, popular streaming services, entertainment, and at grocery stores (not including superstores such as Target and Walmart)
- 1% back on everything else
Plus, you can earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening..
The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Card is another all-star of the cash back/travel rewards genre of credit cards, similar to the Chase Freedom Flex℠. The cash back you earn with this card can be turned into Capital One miles if you’ve also got a miles-earning card such as the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, etc. These can be transferred to airline and hotel partners such as Air Canada, British Airways, Wyndham, etc.
Read our full review of the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: Best for a big welcome bonus
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 12 months. You’ll then get an ongoing APR of 17.99% - 23.99% Variable, based on creditworthiness.
That’s a below-average 0% APR window, but the card makes up for this with a monster welcome bonus. You’ll earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.. That’s humongous for a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee.
As with the Chase Freedom Flex℠, this card technically earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. That means if you’ve got either the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred®, you can transfer your rewards to airlines and hotels for outsized value, such as Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, and Southwest.
Here’s what the card earns for spending:
- 5% back (5 points per dollar) at office supply stores and for internet/cable/phone services on up to $25,000 in combined spending per year (then 1%)
- 2% back (2 points per dollar) at restaurants and gas stations on up to $25,000 in combined spending per year (then 1%)
- 1% back for everything else
This is a small business credit card, which means if you don’t have a for-profit venture, you don’t qualify. However, even DoorDash delivery driver, Uber driver, dog walker, babysitter, etc., can qualify as a small business. You don’t need to make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to get this card.
Apply for the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or read our full review.
Chase Slate Edge: Best for building credit
The no-annual-fee Chase Slate Edge℠ offers a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 18 months (and on balance transfers). You’ll then get an ongoing APR of 19.74% - 28.49% Variable, based on your creditworthiness.
If you’re looking for a pure 0% APR card, this one may actually be the best thanks to its longer-than-usual interest-free window. It’s not at the top of our list because the card has few other enticing features — you won’t earn a welcome bonus, and you won’t earn rewards for purchases.
The upside of the card is that it’s far easier to be approved for than some other cards on this list. It serves those with less-than-perfect credit to help them get back on track.
That said, if you spend $500 on purchases within the first six month, Chase will automatically consider raising your credit limit. And if you spend at least $1,000 on purchases each cardmember year, Chase will consider reducing your APR by 2%.
Citi® Diamond Preferred®: Best for balance transfers
The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card offers an intro APR of 0% for 12 months on Purchases. You’ll then get an ongoing APR of 17.99% - 28.74% (Variable), based on your creditworthiness.
If you’d like a card that also gives you an incredible balance transfer offer, this card offers 0% for 21 months on Balance Transfers. That’s such a long time.
Balance transfers are when you move a balance from one or more cards to another card. If you’ve got a significant balance on a credit card that charges tons of interest, it can be a good idea to transfer that balance to the Citi® Diamond Preferred®. You’ll have 21 months to pay on it interest-free.
Again, you’ll also be free to swipe your card without being charged interest on new purchases for the first 12 months. The tradeoff is that you won’t earn any rewards for your spending. And there is no welcome bonus, unless you count the generous 0% intro APR window.
Apply for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card or read our review.
Card info has been collected by MoneyUnder30 to help consumers better compare cards. The financial institution did not provide or approve card details.What is a 0% intro APR credit card?
Zero-interest credit cards allow you to make purchases — and carry a balance — without being charged interest for a certain amount of time. This is extremely handy for anyone who knows a big expense is in their future and anticipates that they won’t be able to pay it off before the bill comes due.
How does 0% intro APR work?
When you make purchases and don’t pay them off each month, you will incur interest.
Let’s say you’ve got a card that charges 18% APR and you spend $2,000 on the card. If you let that entire balance hang on the card one month after the bill is due, you’ll be charged $30 in interest. If you were to theoretically keep that same balance for a full year, you’d pay $360 in interest.
That’s where a 0% APR comes in handy. Many cards come with zero interest on purchases for a certain window of time after you open the card. You can carry as high of a balance as you want and you won’t be charged interest. Once that window closes, your balance will begin to accrue interest.
Some people use a 0% intro APR credit card as a way to pay down other credit card debt. You can put all new purchases on your 0% APR card and throw all your money toward paying off the credit card(s) that are suckling on your bank account.
One super important note is that you must still make the card’s monthly minimum payment. Even though you’re not being charged interest, you must still keep up with these payments.
Pros & cons of 0% intro APR cards
Pros:
- Great way to pay off debt — If you’ve got significant balances on high interest-incurring credit cards, you can switch your payments to a 0% intro APR card.
- Handy for emergencies — If you’ve got an unexpected expense (perhaps related to a medical emergency, automobile repair, etc.), you can use a 0% intro APR card to mitigate the interest charges of these bills.
- Useful for big purchases — Let’s say you’ve got the means to pay off a large purchase — but you don’t want to drop it all at once. A 0% intro APR card can help you to spread those payments over several months.
Cons:
- Often small welcome offers — Even the best 0% APR credit cards are often unimpressive when it comes to sign-up bonuses. Many premium credit cards come with bonuses worth potentially thousands of dollars. You almost certainly won’t find that with a 0% APR credit card.
- Can be deceptive — A 0% intro APR card can give you a false sense of security. You might be persuaded to make purchases you can’t afford because you know you won’t reap the immediate consequences of crippling interest charges.
- You’re restricted to your credit line — If you’ve got a large purchase or an emergency bill, you’ll be handcuffed by the size of your credit line. If you don’t have a stellar credit score, you may receive just a couple thousand dollars, which may not be enough to cover your bill.
How to choose a 0% APR credit card
There are scores of credit cards with 0% APR. The one you want depends entirely on your needs.
The first step to choosing the right card is to assess your goals. Here are the main questions you should be asking yourself:
- Are you willing to forfeit the ability to earn valuable rewards for a longer interest-free window?
- Do you need 0% intro APR for new purchases only, or do you want the ability to transfer a balance, as well?
- Do you want to earn travel rewards or cash back — or a combination of both?
- Are rotating bonus categories too much effort to keep track of?
One question you shouldn’t have to contend with is whether you’re willing to pay an annual fee. The best no-interest credit cards don’t charge an annual fee — which helps you to throw all your money toward paying your credit cards.
Summary
While 0% interest credit cards can help with big expenses, let me stress that you shouldn’t use them as an excuse to buy something you can’t currently afford. Don’t let a 0% APR credit card lull you into bad financial habits like buying a giant TV and renovating your house just because you know you can run up a balance and worry about paying it off later.
That 0% interest rate won’t last forever, and when it ends, you need to be ready.
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