You may have recently opened up your mailbox and noticed and recent spike in credit card offers! I know I did and began to wonder how this is possible since we just passed credit card regulatory legislation, limiting credit cards companies profit-making model? How can they afford to pay for all of this advertising? And more importantly how can they offer these great credit card deals?
Well I have some bad news, these “deals” may not be exactly what you had in mind. Read below as we explore the fine print offered on some of the most recent “hyped” credit cards and cash advance and balance transfer offers.
Cash advance offers- Card companies are offering new deals for 0% interest on cash advances, both on new cards and in those convenience checks that come with the cards you’ve already got. But here are the traps: (1) the 0% period is shorter than it used to be (typically five or six months vs. a full year or more previously); and (2) they carry automatic cash advance fees that are getting higher and higher. Those fees used to be 3% of the balance transferred, capped at something like $60 or $75. Now they can be 4% or even 5% of the balance transferred and there’s no cap. And lets NOT forget that it is compounding APR
So before you decide to accept a credit card offer make sure to ALWAYS read the fine print.
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