APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate — the interest rate a credit card issuer will charge you if you don’t pay off your balance in full by the end of your billing cycle. This interest is usually charged daily, so if you have an APR of 20.99%, you’d be charged .0575% daily. If you have a debt of $2,000, this would equate to about $1.15 per day.
A card with a 0% APR period can save you a ton of money by offering a chance to pay off your debt without accruing interest for a limited time, usually between 6 and 21 months. After the intro APR period ends, you’ll begin accruing interest on any remaining balance.
These are the best 0% APR credit cards currently available.
Earn 3% cash back on up to $6,000/year spent at U.S. supermarkets (then 1%), 3% cash back on up to $6,000/year at U.S. gas stations (then 1%), 3% cash back on up to $6,000/year on U.S. online retail purchases (then 1%), and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
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For a no-annual-fee option, the reward rate on this card is pretty solid, but for heavy spenders, other cards may offer more value.
Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases and 5% back on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel platform.
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This is a solid, straightforward cash-back card for people who don’t want to pay an annual fee or activate categories, but other cards may earn more.
Earn 6% cash back on up to $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year (then 1% back), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% cash back on other eligible purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
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Although this card has an annual fee, most families will be able to easily get enough value out of the everyday categories to make it worth it.
This card doesn’t earn any rewards.
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This card’s main appeal is its long 0% APR offer, but it doesn’t give much past that point.
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), plus 1% back on all other purchases. Earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases when you book through the Capital One Entertainment portal. Earn 5% back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
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The cash-back categories and welcome bonus are pretty solid, especially for a card without an annual fee.
Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases made for your business.
Earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases
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The lack of an annual fee coupled with high flat-rate rewards makes this card a valuable asset to any wallet.
Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on all purchases and 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
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If you don’t travel a lot, this may be a good option, but unless you’re 100% set on getting a travel card without an annual fee, you’ll likely find more value elsewhere.
0% APR on a credit card means that you won’t be charged interest on purchases, balance transfers, or both during a set period — often 6 to 21 months.
Once the intro period ends, any balance that is carried over is subject to the regular APR and begins accruing interest. Thankfully, many of these cards have long intro APR offers, giving cardholders an adequate amount of time to pay off most or all of their balance.
Note, however, that just because a card has a 0% APR offer, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay anything. You’re still required to make monthly minimum payments towards your balance. If you don’t, the card issuer could cancel your 0% offer, making your credit card interest reset to the ongoing APR.
There are many types of APRs, such as:
Let’s say your card has a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. This means that for the first 15 months after you open the card account, no interest will be charged on purchases or balance transfers. After the intro APR period is over, you’ll be charged the regular/ongoing APR on any balance you maintain month-to-month.
If you have a $2,000 debt, you can pay $134 per month for 15 months, and then you’ll be debt-free. Since you have a 0% intro APR, all of the money you pay goes toward paying off your debt, rather than toward interest + your debt.
Even with 0% intro APR cards, you are still required to at least pay the minimum amount on your balance each month, even during the intro period. Otherwise, the credit card issuer may cancel the 0% offer early and immediately subject you to the ongoing APR.
If you carry a balance on your credit card, meaning you don’t pay it off fully by the end of the billing cycle, the amount you owe begins accruing interest (aka APR). This is a percent of your remaining balance that the issuer charges you until you pay off your balance in full.
Although APR is presented as an annual percentage rate, credit card interest works as a daily rate that is calculated based on the balance you carry beyond each billing cycle. This daily rate is calculated by dividing your annual percentage rate (APR) by the number of days in the year (365), then multiplying your average daily balance by the daily rate. Once the daily interest charge is determined, this amount is added to your credit card bill each billing cycle.
▶︎ Learn more: How credit card interest works
If you’re able to pay off your balance each month, you won’t have to worry about your APR, since there won’t be a balance to charge interest on.
If you tend to carry a balance, a 0% APR card can be tremendously helpful, giving you extra time to pay off those purchases before having to pay interest on them. Also pay attention to the ongoing APR, since you’ll have to start paying that on any remaining balance or future balance once the intro period ends.
How much you’ll save with a low-interest credit card depends on several important factors:
While plenty of variables can impact your savings, consider this example:
You have a $2,000 balance on a credit card and are paying $100 per month to pay off that debt. If you had a card with 18% APR, you’d be able to pay off that balance in 24 months but would accrue almost $400 worth of interest in the process, meaning you’d pay almost $2,400 in total.
Alternatively, if you had a card with a long intro APR offer, you wouldn’t accrue any interest for a limited time (meaning all of your monthly payments go toward your original balance) and could pay off your balance in 20 months.
There are myriad reasons to pick up a credit card with 0% APR, and more than one can apply to your situation.
Here are the main reasons you may want to consider a zero-interest card:
When deciding on a zero APR credit card, consider the following:
Typically, only those with good or excellent credit (approximately 670+ FICO score or 661+ VantageScore) can qualify for a card with a 0% APR offer. Lenders want to be sure that cardholders are reliable, making their minimum payments on time, and that they are unlikely to default on their balance.
However, having a great credit score does not guarantee approval, since lenders also consider factors like income.
Your creditworthiness is a key factor lenders use to determine a card’s interest rate. This takes things like your payment history, credit utilization, and more into consideration to show lenders whether they can trust you. Generally speaking:
Most credit cards have a variable interest rate (e.g. 19.24-29.99%). If you qualify for the card and have an excellent credit score, you’ll likely see your interest rate towards the low end of the range (down to 19.24% in this example). If you qualify and have a lower credit score, you’ll likely be on the higher end of the APR range (up to 29.99% in this example).
Zero-interest cards are a great option if you need to make a large purchase or balance transfer that you’d like to have some time to pay off. The promotional rate expires after a set amount of time, though, and then the regular APR sets in. Typically, the ongoing interest rate on cards with a 0% introductory offer is on the higher end, so carrying a balance after the intro period is over isn’t recommended.
On the other hand, low-interest cards don’t usually have an intro offer associated with them. Instead, their ongoing APR is lower overall. It’s never ideal to carry a balance on a card but these cards can be good to keep around if there’s a chance you’ll need to float a balance for a couple of months in the future.
We looked at more than 100 zero-interest credit cards from every major issuer to find the best cards with 0% APR available today.
Factors we compared include each card’s intro APR, balance transfer APR, and ongoing APR. We also looked at the regular purchase APR that applies after the intro period, and we compared introductory offers based on their length.
Other card issuer factors we looked at include rewards rates, bonus offers, and complimentary credit card perks like free FICO scores, cell phone insurance, and roadside assistance.
Many people religiously pay off their credit cards in full each month, so they don’t need to ever pay an APR since they aren’t carrying a balance. If this is the case for you, you may want to consider a rewards card like a travel card or a cash-back card, which lets you earn cash, points, miles, and more on eligible purchases you make.
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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this page.
You’ll never find a credit card that has 0% APR forever, a 0% APR credit card offers an introductory zero-interest period on purchases, balance transfers, or both. Your new purchases or balance transfers (depending on your card’s offer) won’t incur interest charges during this fixed period. Once the introductory period is over, you’ll begin accruing interest on your remaining balance.
The Wells Fargo Reflect Card has one of the longest intro APR periods, with 21 months of 0% interest.
Our top picks for 0% interest credit cards
Yes! If you can pay off your credit card’s balance in full each month, you won’t have to pay any interest.
Yes, if you only make the minimum payment required, you’ll still be charged interest. Although minimum payments help keep your account in good standing, it still leaves you with a balance that accrues interest. However, if you have a card with a 0 APR offer, you won’t be charged any interest on your balance for the limited promotional period.
A good interest rate for a credit card is considered anything below average. The average interest rate on credit cards in America is around 22%. To get an APR lower than this, you will need excellent credit. People with excellent credit can expect to find good APR rates at 18% or less on a credit card. You may also find low APR offers from local banks.
The best credit rates and terms go to those who have proven their creditworthiness. Ultimately, your approval odds for the best credit card offers go up when you have a FICO score of 720 or higher.
For students, or those with bad credit or no credit, a student credit card or secured card might be the best option since they will find it difficult to qualify for a 0% APR credit card. Once they’ve built their credit score up, it will find it easier to qualify for better cards like those offering 0% interest.
You don’t have to close your credit card after your intro period ends. Keeping it open could give you a boost in terms of creditworthiness. If your card doesn’t charge an annual fee, you should put it away for safekeeping. That way, it can help increase the average length of your credit history, and thus your credit score.
Yes! The Ink Business Unlimited® Card has 0% APR for 12 months! You can find out more in our guide to the best business credit cards.
Holly D. Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer who covers topics like insurance, investing, credit and family finance. As a leading voice in the travel and loyalty space, Johnson has traveled with her family to more than 50 countries over the last decade.
The author has also written extensively on the power of household budgeting, and she even co-authored a book on the topic. Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love was originally published in 2017, and it teaches families how to use zero-sum budgeting to reach their financial goals. She is also the co-owner and founder of the family finance and travel website, ClubThrifty.com.
Johnson’s 10+ years of writing have focused on helping families make important financial decisions at each stage of their lives. The author also applies the financial principles she teaches to her own life, and she is currently on track to retire in her late 40’s with her partner. She currently lives in Central Indiana with her husband and children, and she is a regular contributor for Bankrate, CNN, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report Travel and many other notable publications.
* Opinions expressed here are those of LA Times Compare and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publication. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.
