0% Purchases

Many of my readers are struggling with their bills or they are trying to make a little side money by reading the deals I posted. For almost two years now, I have written everything from making money with rebate, to haggling phone bills, to free money with test drive, etc etc. You name it, I’ve written about it. Readers have made thousands of dollars and I hope that this website has made a difference in your financial life.

0% APR on purchases can be the next strategy to making an extra few hundreds of dollars a year if you play it right. This means that your card has 0% APR on everything you spent for 12 months. You would still need to make the minimum payment, but it all goes to the principal balance. They are not making any money out of you on interest for 12 months as long as you pay the minimum balance.

Strategy on 0% APR Purchases Credit Cards:

You are thinking, “okay, what is the big deal? I pay my full balance at the end of each month. Isn’t that a better strategy?.” The answer is No. You are getting a free loan each month if you are using a 0% APR credit card on purchases. Instead of paying off each month, you are just gonna pay the minimum. The money that was suppose to go toward the full balance can be deposit into a 4.00% APY WaMu savings account. Say your family is spending $2K each month on purchases with the 0% APR card, then the average balance in your savings account after 12 months is around $10K. You would be making around $400 in interest money alone. Around the 11th month, make plan to pay off the entire balance of your 0% APR on Purchases card using the money in your savings account. Have another 0% APR on purchases card ready to do it all over again.

The Advance Strategy:

Taking it to the next level is using a 0% APR purchases card with cash back. Here, you are double dipping with the 0% APR promo and getting cash back at the same time. Lets use the Discover More Card with 12 months 0% APR on purchases. You get 5% Cashback Bonus in categories like travel, home, gas, restaurants, movies in particular months throughout the year. Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases automatically. Using the $2K spending example from above, the family is going to make at least an extra $20 a month from cash back bonuses. Multiply by 12, and the family is making an extra $240 a year. Add that to the Savings account interest money, that’s a total of over $640 a year in free money using the double dipping method on cash back with 0% APR on purchases.

Consumer No Annual Fee Credit Cards with Cash Back and 12 Months 0% APR on Purchases:

  1. American Express Blue - 15 Months 0% APR on Purchases. Earn one point for virtually every dollar you charge with Blue to redeem for entertainment, retail, and travel rewards.
  2. Discover More Card - 12 Months 0% APR. 5% cash back on special categories, 1% everything else.
  3. American Express Clear - 12 Months 0% APR. When you spend $2,500, you get an American Express branded shopping card worth $25 automatically each time.
  4. Chase Flexible Rewards - 12 Months 0% APR. 1point for every 1 dollar spent.
  5. American Express Blue Cash - 12 Months 0% APR. Cash rebates range from 0.5% to 5%, depending on what you buy and your spending with the card.
  6. American Express Blue Sky -12 Months 0% APR. Earn 1 point per dollar spent. Rewards start at 7,500 points, which is worth a $100 discount on whatever travel deal you book.

Business No Annual Fee Credit Cards with Cash Back and 12 Months 0% APR on Purchases:

Whether you have a home-based business or that you have sold something on Ebay, you can apply for a business credit card. You can put your name as the business name and your social security number as the tax id. Your business is called sole proprietorship and it’s perfectly legal with the IRS.

  1. American Express Blue Business - 15 Months 0% APR on Purchases. Earn one point for virtually every dollar you charge with Blue to redeem for entertainment, retail, and travel rewards.
  2. American Express SimplyCash - 12 months 0% APR. 5% cash back on office supplies and wireless service; 3% on automobile gas, 1% everything else.
  3. Discover Business Card - 12 months 0% APR. $100 cash back bonus after $1000 in purchases. 5% Cashback on office supplies, 2% on gas, and 1% on all other card purchases.
  4. Discover Business Miles - 12 months 0% APR. 12,000 bonus miles; double miles on travel and gas.
  5. American Express Platinum Business - 12 months 0% APR. Earn 1 point per dollar spent.

Again, this strategy is not for everybody. Especially for slackers who are forgetful or have impulsive buying. This is not an excuse to keep on spending like there’s no tomorrow. Have careful planning to pay it off at the end of the promotional period. Do not pay late, or charge over your limit.