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Credit card question

This might be thick question and a bit waffley but please don't laugh.  If you've got a credit card which says 0% for 18 months, does that mean that even if you don't pay it off in full each month then you won't have to pay interest on it, so long as after 18 months it's fully paid?

Whenever I watch the Martin Lewis money things he always says that if you pay it off in full each month then you won't pay interest, so that's what I do with my current credit card, however i'm looking at flights for turkey for next year, and found some good ones with Thomas cook, however I've not got the £800 to pay upfront right now.  If I sign up for a 18 month 0% interest card, does that mean i'll be able to take the 18 months to spread the cost and not have to pay any interest.

Replies

  • Yes, if it says it's 0% on purchases then you will only have to make the minimum payments each month and not pay any interest.

  • Yes that's right. Great idea for the flights, but bear in mind if you miss any payments I think they can withdraw the 0% offer from you.

    If you use your current credit card like that do you have one that gives you cashback?

  • Thanks, it's a Tesco one, so you get clubcard points rather than cash back.  I'd only want to pop the flights on there, which are about £890, i'd probably be able to repay £100 a month so wouldn't actually need the full 18 months.  The CC I've got now I just pay off in full every month, and tbh I don't really use it that much.  I'm a bit scared of them, we only had it when we lost two holidays because the company went bust so it seemed more secure paying by cc and then being able to reclaim the money should anything go wrong.  My dad works as a financial advisor and it's always been drummed into me that you don't have what you can't afford.

  • I think that your Dad is right and on the whole, it is best to only spend what you can afford on a credit card and pay it off at the end of the month. The 0% interest period is great for this kind of thing, provided you treat it in your mind like a small loan that you do have to pay back. And make sure you do it during the interest free period.  

    Where many people become undone by credit cards is that they forget they are spending their money really and they do need to pay it back.

  • MM - it's been drummed into me Laugh

    It's not that we can't afford the flights either, we can, we just can't afford it all upfront.  When you book it all individually you have to pay it all upfront, I suppose that's how it works out cheaper, I guess getting a 0% card though means that we can pay for it all upfront, but then pay it off monthly as we would to with a travel agent.

  • I'm another who only likes to spend what I can afford, and only have a credit card for the security of it on large payments, and the cashback/points (I also have a tesco one - always paid off in full)

    If you're concerned about missing a payment, you could set up a direct debit to it, I'm certain you can select to always pay minimum amount or full amount - I know mine is set to pay full amount every month so I don't even have to think about it.  

  • Deedee, that's probably what i'd do, set it up so i paid off £100 a month and then i'd know that it was definitely paid off at the end of the 18 month period.

  • There probably would be MM, there usually is when booking a holiday by credit card, but unless it's unreasonablely large I don't mind paying it for the peace of mind knowing that you're protected should anything go wrong with the travel company.

    Having lost our honeymoon in 2008 when travel city when bust, and then losing flights in 2009 when Jetsun holidays went bust, i'd rather pay £40 knowing that i'm covered by the credit card company.

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