What happens when your 0% balance transfer ends, and how to be ready

A 0% balance transfer can give your debt a real break from interest. It also has an end date, and that date is easy to lose track of. Here’s what happens when the promo ends, and how to plan for it now while you still have time.

The short version

When the intro period ends, whatever balance is left starts getting charged the card’s regular rate. That rate is in your card agreement and on your statement. Card companies are allowed to raise the rate on your existing balance when a temporary rate, like a balance transfer rate, expires. That temporary rate has to last at least 6 months (CFPB).

So what matters is how much of the balance is still there when it does.

0% intro APR vs “no interest if paid in full”

These two offers sound alike, and they work very differently.

• A true 0% intro APR charges no interest during the promo. If a balance is left at the end, interest starts on what’s left, from that point on (CFPB).
• Deferred interest, usually on store cards, is the “no interest if paid in full within 12 months” kind. If you haven’t paid it all off by the end, or you’re more than 60 days late on a payment, you can be charged interest for every month back to the start (CFPB).

Check your offer’s wording to see which one you have. The word “if” is the giveaway for the second kind.

What can end your promo early

Paying late is the big one. If your minimum payment isn’t received within 60 days after the due date, the card company is allowed to raise the rate on your existing balance (CFPB). Set up autopay for at least the minimum so a busy month can’t cost you the 0%.

It also helps to keep new purchases off the card you transferred to. New purchases may have a different rate, and a clean card makes it easy to see exactly what you’re racing to pay off.

Do the math now

Take your balance, including any transfer fee, and divide it by the months left in the promo. That’s the monthly payment that gets you to $0 in time. Card companies can charge a balance transfer fee even on a 0% offer (CFPB), so check your statement for it.

If you can’t pay it all by the end

That’s okay. Every dollar you paid at 0% went straight to the balance, so you’re still ahead. A few things can help with what’s left:

• Call and ask for a lower regular rate. Here’s what to say, word for word.
• Put the leftover into your payoff plan at its real rate. If it’s now your highest APR, the avalanche method says it gets your extra money first.

A second balance transfer can also make sense. It usually means another fee and a new application, so run the numbers before you apply, and keep new spending off the new card.

Put the end date where you’ll see it

Find the exact end date on your statement or in your card’s app. Put it on your calendar, along with a reminder two or three months before, so you have time to adjust your payment.

In Glow Up, 0% offer reminders give you a heads-up before your promo ends, and the balance transfer calculator runs this math with your own cards.

Or try the free debt payoff calculator

Keep reading

• How to get a lower credit card APR and pay off debt faster
• How to calculate your real debt-free date