Low and even zero interest credit cards seem, at least on the surface, to be the solution to increasing personal debt problems. The providers give the user the facility of very low or even no interest on credit for a certain period of time. With these, one can transfer one’s accumulated unpaid debts from one card to another for anything from four months to fifteen months. No doubt, this is an attractive and even beneficial way to save money, and many users report complete satisfaction with their low/zero interest credit cards.
There is, of course, no such thing as a free lunch. Banks who give such a facility to their customers are not doing so for philanthropic reasons, and do manage to earn even out of such a seemingly user-friendly arrangement. As already stated, the reduced or nullified rate of interest on credit is for a limited period only, after which it can suddenly change to anything from 10% to 18%. Anyone who uses a low or zero interest card should be aware of the terms applicable after the specified period elapses.
The small print is understandably something that banks are not too eager to underline for increased prominence, and a creative corporate copywriter can conceal it so well in verbal razzle-dazzle that it is almost undetectable.
A small-print savvy and conscientious spender can doubtlessly benefit hugely from a low- or zero-interest credit card. However, it seems that such users of low or zero interest credit cards are more an exception than the rule. The rule is that a credit-card user tends to be seduced into a state of blissful complacency and reckless spending habits by the initial low/zero interest rate, and then has a rude awakening when that period is over.
