Buy now, pay later just got a whole lot more urgent.
If you plan to charge something, don’t put it off, because today’s credit-card bargains will likely soon be gone, say credit-card industry observers, due to a recovering economy and steadily rising interest rates across the board.
According to CardHub.com, while the Federal Reserve’s dirt-cheap interest rates have been hurting savers, the same policies are now a boon for responsible credit-card users with good payment records.
“For people who have good credit ratings, there are great opportunities to get an interest-free loan for up to 18 months,” says John Kiernan, a senior analyst with CardHub.com.
Card companies, facing more and more competition, have been resorting to all sorts of bargain deals to attract and hold customers, said CardHub’s recent Credit Card Landscape report.
There is “a resurgence of lucrative [zero-percent] introductory interest rates and initial rewards bonuses, which could equate to hundreds of dollars in savings for consumers,” according to the report. CardHub officials said the zero-percent deals can equate to interest-free loans for up to 18 months.
“There are some excellent offers for people with great credit scores,” added Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com. Hardekopf said a great credit score usually means 750 or more.
Credit-card industry officials cite several reasons for the deals. The Fed has kept rates very low since the market meltdown of 2007-08 and the subsequent recession, so card companies can pass on the savings to consumers.
Also, since the recession, millions of Americans have improved their payment records, reducing card delinquency rates.
In addition, as Americans have cut back on their credit-card usage until recently, there has been less business for card companies, which have faced renewed pressure to find and hold customers.
“Card companies are fighting for business. They’re trying to figure out how far they can go in offering great deals to get customers,” Kiernan says.
But he warns that the tide could soon turn against the credit-card user as the companies find ways to bring in more business.
Cards with the longest zero-percent introductory offers include BankAmericard Visa Card, Capital One Platinum Prestige, Chase Freedom Visa, Citi Diamond Preferred, Citi Simplicity, HSBC Platinum MasterCard and PenFed Platinum Rewards.