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Dannyc1984 Posts: 4 Newbie
4 December 2018 at 9:47PM in
% interest credit card offers.
so i applied for a mbna credit card in September which had a 0% interest until September 2020 great 🙂
or so i thought as the t&c is kind of misleading or am i the only one who would think providing i paid the card balance by the offer end date then i wouldn't pay the interest right ?.
i had a Barclays card which was perfect i used it paid some balance when i could and the remaining balance carried over to then next month without incurring any interest at all until the offer end date which was September 2018 so i had the card for 16 months interest free spending which i paid the balance in full at the end and cancelled the card .
i noticed the 0% offer on balances are only valid for 52 days from when the card was activated which is fine i get that. But then that doesn't make the card 0% interest free till 2020 does it ?
If anyone can help make this a bit clearer and recommend a card that offers zero percent interest until a certain time and it is strictly 0% then i would like to know.
many thanks
[Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
4 December 2018 at 9:54PM
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The window for purchases is not always the same as the 0% period. In your case, from what you say, the card is interest free until 2020, but only on the transactions in the first 52 days.
What sort of card are you looking for? BT, purchases or both?
Dannyc1984 Posts: 4 Newbie
4 December 2018 at 10:10PM
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Hi thanks for the reply
I mainly use it for fuel and online shopping.
MallyGirl Posts: 6,767 Senior Ambassador
4 December 2018 at 10:31PM
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I think you are getting confused by the T&Cs.
Did you apply for a 0% on balance transfer card or a 0% on purchases card?
If purchases, then the standard blurb will say you pay no interest if you pay in full when the statement is due giving you up to 56 days interest free. If you don't pay in full you will be liable for interest - which is at the promotional rate of 0% till 2020.
They don't change the standard T&Cs for the promotion
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All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.binaryuniverse Posts: 906 Forumite
4 December 2018 at 10:39PM
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MallyGirl wrote: »
I think you are getting confused by the T&Cs.
Did you apply for a 0% on balance transfer card or a 0% on purchases card?
More a case of not reading the fine print. MBNA are a bit 'sneaky' in that they offer 0% on purchases, provided you buy in a certain number of days from opening the account. Most 0% purchase cards, I've had, allow you to buy anything, within in the 0% offer period, with no interest applied.
So, it's as ZX81 says; only transactions in the first 52 days are interest free until 2020.
Dannyc1984 Posts: 4 Newbie
4 December 2018 at 10:46PM
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so i took the card out for purchases only.
and was looking for a card with 0% purchase until the promotional offer ended
Dannyc1984 Posts: 4 Newbie
4 December 2018 at 10:49PM
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binaryuniverse wrote: »
More a case of not reading the fine print. MBNA are a bit 'sneaky' in that they offer 0% on purchases, provided you buy in a certain number of days from opening the account. Most 0% purchase cards, I've had, allow you to buy anything, within in the 0% offer period, with no interest applied.
So, it's as ZX81 says; only transactions in the first 52 days are interest free until 2020.
it was only for purchases but yes wanted a card with 0% until the
offer endedPRAISETHESUN Posts: 3,897 Forumite
5 December 2018 at 1:52PM
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With a 0% card you will have up to 52 days (or whatever the T&Cs are) from the date of purchase before the standard interest free period ends. After this point you will have to pay interest at the prevailing rate, which is 0% until a set date. Otherwise you may be getting confused with balance transfers, which normally require you to transfer within the first few months of opening the card to take advantage of the bonus offer.
Ben8282 Posts: 4,821 Forumite
5 December 2018 at 9:01PM
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I think you are confusing the normal interest free period if you repay in full each month with any promotional offer that you may have.
There is no such thing as an offer on balances as such and a 0% offer valid for 52 days from the date of card activation seems rather strange..
I have tried to look at what offers are currently available from MBNA but it appears that the eligibility checker must be completed before they let you see details of the cards on offer - very unsatisfactory.
You need to look at the literature which accompanied the card to see if the 0% offers are for balance transfers, money transfers or purchases or q combination of the above.
In the highly unlikely event that you actually do have a 0% offer only on purchases made within the first 52 days then BEWARE. As you would be charged interest on further purchases and would not be repaying the card in full each month, you would end up paying interest on any further purchases you may make even if you repay them each month unless you clear the card completely.binaryuniverse Posts: 906 Forumite
6 December 2018 at 9:48AM
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Ben8282 wrote: »
In the highly unlikely event that you actually do have a 0% offer only on purchases made within the first 52 days then BEWARE.
It's MBNA. They do this. I currently have a card from them with exactly this type of offer.
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