Stuck In A Financial Bind? A 0% APR Credit Card Might Be the Key to Getting Out of It: Here’s How

There’s an unexpected expense — maybe a new job requiring a cross-country move, an emergency dental bill, or a sudden home repair — looming on the horizon. It always seems to strike at the worst time, blindsiding your bank account and making off with your savings.

And that assumes you have savings. Most Americans probably don’t have a few thousand dollars in cash sitting around to spend — but left with limited options, there’s a kind of “money glitch” that responsible credit users can use to buy time, build up some cash, and pay things off. The way to get you unstuck might even be in your mailbox.

0% APR, 0% down: While many Americans turn to personal loans to spread out the surprise costs, there’s a less demanding alternative — a credit card with a 0% APR teaser offer. You might have even gotten these in the mail from big banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or Chase. These cards work like normal credit cards, but they come with a sweet deal: you can use the bank’s money without accumulating interest for anywhere from 6 to 18 or even 21 months, depending on the card.

• Used responsibly, a 0% APR card lets you spend someone else’s money now, keep and save up your cash, and make smaller payments on the principal over time — all while avoiding interest.
• Many of these cards also let you move existing credit card debt onto the 0% APR card for a small fee (often ~5%), giving you a window to pay down what would otherwise be accumulating interest.

This Is No Joke

A 0% APR card can act like a “money glitch” in stressful financial situations, turning a cash crunch into a brief reprieve — especially if you can also score a modest sign-up bonus or cash back on your necessary spend. Make no mistake, though: this works because the bank is betting you won’t fully pay off the balance by the end of the promo period.

• In other words, a 0% APR card is best for situations where you need to spend a lot of money and don’t want to part with yours — at least not all at once.
• And in some cases, a personal loan might be a better option for large-dollar expenses, such as when your spending will likely exceed $10K.

So what’s the best path forward? The good news is that many lenders won’t approve you for this kind of card if you have a history of not being responsible with credit — and that’s probably for the best. If you’re to take out this type of line of credit for an important purchase, you have to be serious about paying down the balance. Once the promo period ends, interest is accrued on the balance — and you don’t want to be paying 24%+ APR on that balance. But with a little honesty and a plan, a 0% APR card could be a way out of many of life’s biggest financial inconveniences.