I wouldn’t suggest becoming a member of Costco just for this particular benefit, but if you are already a member and looking for a place to stash your cash, you can consider Capital One. Capital One’s direct banking department is offering a 3.2% APY compared to 3.0% APY for non-members on the bank’s money market account.
Membership costs $50, so unless you intend on earning more than that on the 20 basis point advantage, signing up for Costco membership to earn this higher rate doesn’t make sense. Even if you are already a member, there are a number of banks offering higher interest rates.
If you are an “Executive Member” of Costco, a benefit that costs $100 each year, you would qualify for this rate plus a $50 bonus if you deposit more than $5,000 into the Capital One money market account.
Last updated: November 30, 2008.
Capital One® offers a number of credit cards with no balance transfer fees. For this reason, if you are looking to consolidate your credit card debt onto one cars which you don’t plan on using for purchases, you may want to take a look at these offers. Please be aware that these cards do charge interest on balance transfers, and there is no “grace period” as would usually apply to purchases. That means you’ll be charged interest starting with the day you transfer your balance.
You should only transfer a balance to a credit card if the terms, including APR and transfer fee, are better than what you’re currently being charged. Don’t consolidate just for a lower monthly payment.
Here are the Capital One® credit cards that offer no balance transfer fees.
No Hassle MilesSM Rewards – Excellent Credit
No Hassle CashSM Rewards – Good Credit
No Hassle MilesSM Rewards – Good Credit
Standard Platinum
No Hassle CashSM Rewards
Credit cards are like buzz saws. They are useful tools but dangerous if in the hands of someone who doesn’t use them properly. The rates offered on these balance transfers are not the best in the industry, but the lack of a balance transfer fee sets these cards apart. In today’s environment, many other credit card companies are charging fees of 3% and eliminating upper limits on these fees.
Any indented text is excerpted directly from the issuer’s marketing.
Here is an update to an article I posted about four months ago. If you’re looking for 0% APR offers, here are 79 of them.
Warning! Taking advantage of credit card companies may be fun and profitable, but it is dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, or if you do know what you’re doing but are not careful. If you miss one payment, in most cases, you will owe back interest at the default rate.
That being said, here are a bunch of credit cards offering 0% APR on purchases, balance transfers, or cash advances for a year or six months. Use these cards responsibly, and you can save yourself money two ways. First, you can earn interest on your cash while paying off the card, and second, you can use inflation to your advantage. For example, if you pay $100 each month for thirteen months, your last payment is worth about 3% less in purchasing power. Here are 79 cards that offer 0% interest on purchases or more.
Note: Since posting this list on November 27, 2007, many issued have canceled these offers. The list below reflects what is currently available of the original 79 offers.
Discover Business Miles Card (apply here)
0% APR on purchases for 12 months
13.99% APR on purchases (standard)
You don’t have to have a business to apply and be accepted for this card, as with any business card. With this card, you also earn miles which can be redeemed for travel credits. The standard Discover Business Card offers a similar introductory rate, but rather than miles, earns the spender 5% cash back on office supplies, 2% on gas, and 1% on all other purchases.
Here are more 0% interest introductory offers on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances.
Discover More Card: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover More Card – Sealife Collection: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Miles by Discover Card: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover More Card – American Flag: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover More Card – Wildlife Collection: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover More Card – Monogram: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover Open Road Card: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover More Card – Clear: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months
Discover Motiva Card: 0% APR on purchases for 12 months
Advanta Platinum BusinessCard: 0% APR on purchases on balance transfers for 12 months
Advanta Platinum BusinessCard With Rewards: 0% APR on purchases on balance transfers for 15 months
Discover Open Road Card for Students: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Discover Student Card: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Discover Student Card – Tropical Beach: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Discover Student Card – Clear: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Discover Student Card – Monogram Collection: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Blue Sky from American Express: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Clear from American Express: 0% APR on purchases for 12 months
Blue from American Express: 0% APR on purchases for up to 15 months
Blue Cash from American Express: 0% APR on purchases for 6 months
Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months, if you qualify, based on your application and credit history
Pulaski Bank Gold Visa Card: 0% APR on balance transfers for 6 months
Pulaski Bank Visa/MasterCard: 0% APR on balance transfers for 6 months
Capital One® No Hassle CashSM Rewards – Good Credit: 0% APR on purchases until October 2009
Capital One® No Hassle MilesSM Rewards – Good Credit: 0% APR on purchases until October 2009
Kimberly Lankford from Kiplinger recently handled a question from a reader. Capital One raised her interest rate from 9.9% to 15.9% on her account, and she’s wondering what her options are.
You could decline the rate change and continue to pay off your balance at the old rate… Capital One would then close your account and notify the three credit bureaus when you finished paying off the balance…
Kimberly explains that closing the account can be detrimental to her credit score, especially if this is one of her longest standing credit card accounts. Closing the account could negatively affect the reader’s total credit history, average credit history, and debt utilization ratio. The optimal solution is to pay off the balance as quickly as possible but leave the account open and inactive.
Even before taking any of the above actions, I would suggest simply calling Capital One and asking if they could lower the rate. In the past, this has been somewhat effective for some people, but the credit landscape has changed and the companies seem to be more likely not to budge. It’s worth a try, in my opinion. I wouldn’t even give up until I’ve talked to several different customer service representatives and their supervisors.
In March, a Consumerism Commentary had a similar question about closing her Capital One credit card. I provided my suggestion based on Capital One’s method of reporting credit limits to the bureaus that provide credit reports and scores at the time. This method was designed to hurt customers’ credit scores. In that case, her Capital One card was the oldest account, but I didn’t rule out canceling the card because of those reporting practices. The company has since switched gears and has adjusted their policy to report true credit limits.
Coping With Credit-Card Rate Increases [Kiplinger]
Updated March 20, 2008.
If you manage your money well and can afford to do so, there’s nothing wrong with using 0% offers to make larger purchases. Taking this approach gives you two advantages: you can leave more of your money in savings earning interest and use inflation to your advantage. (Your $100 final payment has less purchasing power than the $100 of your first payment, so even if your absolute dollars stay constant during repayment, you are paying with less real value as time goes on.)
Of course, if you do not make a payment on time then you will owe previous interest accrued at the default rate. The issuers may even try to trick you into missing payments by delaying statements. You must be on the ball to make use of these deals.
Good 0% APR offers are getting harder to find thanks to the credit card companies tightening their belts, coinciding with the recent decreases in Fed rates. Here are some of the best offers available as of December 18, 2007.
Chase TravelPlus Visa (apply here)
0% on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months
17.49% variable APR (standard)
This card, in addition to the introductory APR offer, provides 2 miles for every $1 spent on travel-related purchases and 1 mile for every $1 on other categories. There is a $29 annual fee for the rewards program, however.
American Express Platinum Business FreedomPass Card
0% APR on purchases for 12 months
This card offers no annual fee and a standard APR of 11.74% on purchases. The current 0% offer makes this card worthwhile. You will receive 5,000 bonus points after your first purchase, which once accumulated can be traded in for savings on any flight, hotel, car rental or cruise, with no restrictions or blackout dates.
American Express Blue Cash for Business Card
0% APR on purchases for 6 months
The Blue Cash for Business Card is the one I recently opened to pay for my business expenses, but I opened the card before this 0% APR special offer was available. There is no annual fee and you can earn up to a 5% rebate. The full rebate is a little difficult to achieve thanks to minimum spending requirements and is limited to vendors within AmEx’s OPEN Savings partners.
American Express Platinum Business Card
0% APR on purchases for 12 months
This no-fee credit card allows you to earn 1 point for every dollar spent with no upper limit. Those points are redeemable for airfare as well as many other expenses, all through the American Express Membership Rewards program. The standard APR is 10.74%, but with an introductory rate of 0% APR for a year, you won’t be paying interest for a while.
American Express SimplyCash Business Card
0% APR on purchases for 12 months
The AmEx SimplyCash Business Card is similar to the Platinum Business Card. Both cards offer 0$ APR for 12 months but rather than points, the SimplyCash card offers 5% cash back on gas, office supplies, and wireless services, and 1% cash back on virtually all other purchases.
Advanta Platinum BusinessCard
0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months
This is a basic credit card that doesn’t offer much in the way of rewards. There is no annual fee, however, and you may be able to make good use of the 0% balance transfer offer. Watch out for the balance transfer fee of 3% with a maximum of $50. That maximum could make larger balance transfers worthwhile.
As always, if you choose to use credit, do so responsibly. Obviously with 0% offers, you don’t want to pay your entire balance off until the last possible moment, but you must play by the credit card company’s rules and don’t fall into any of the traps.
Updated December 1, 2008. Any indented text is excerpted directly from Capital One’s marketing.
Capital One has been in the news recently for two issues relevant to card holders. First, the company reversed their policy on reporting credit limits so FICO scores are not adversely affected. Later, Capital One closed its wholesale mortgage business, distancing the company from the sub-prime mess (and lowering its risk exposure).
I haven’t mentioned much about Capital One credit cards in the past. Now that the company has adjusted its policies, I have looked into their credit cards with more detail.
Capital One® No Hassle CashSM Rewards (apply here)
The Capital One® No Hassle CashSM Rewards card. Through the reward program, cardholders earn a 2% cash back on purchases at gas stations and major grocery stores and 1% cash back on all other purchases. There is no limit on cash back and rewards won’t expire for the life of your account.
Try this application if you have a below average credit history.
Capital One® No Hassle MilesSM Rewards (apply here)
The Capital One® No Hassle MilesSM Rewards card card you earn miles 25% faster than regular miles cards – for customers with excellent credit. Earn 1.25 miles for each dollar spent on purchases. There are no blackout dates or seat restrictions and no expiration date on miles and no limit on the miles you can earn. With a 9.9% APR on purchases and balance transfers.
If you have only average credit, try this application for the same card offering a higher APR, for which you have a better chance of qualifying.
Capital One® Platinum Prestige (apply here)
The Capital One® Platinum Prestige card is designed for those with excellent credit who want a credit card with a very low interest rate. The best feature of this card is the very low interest rate on purchases and balance transfers. It makes this card a great option for those who plan to carry a balance and for those who would like to transfer balances from cards with high interest rates. There is no annual fee. Overall, this card is one of the most cost-effective credit cards available.
For other cards that will be useful for their introductory 0% APR for balance transfers see this information on credit card arbitrage.
You’ll need a good credit history to qualify for this MasterCard.
Capital One® Platinum (apply here)
The Capital One® Platinum MasterCard for people with good credit is designed for those who want a credit card with a competitive APR and great benefits. The best feature of this card is the reasonable interest rate on purchases and balance transfers. It makes the card a good option for those who plan to carry a balance. There is no annual fee.
All card holders have access to the Capital One® Saving Zone(SM) on Yahoo! Shopping, which offers special discounts on a variety of products.
Right now, Capital One is not offering any introductory offers for new customers. For a card with a strong introductory cash bonus and cash-back rewards, look into the Citi Drivers Edge Card for College Students.
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