Go-To Rate

Because our credit rating is oh so good, we receive tons of credit card offers in the mail every day. Most of them go right into the blue bin. But today, an offer from a company called Furtive & Dupe, Inc. catches our eye. “Zero percent interest for 24 months!” the envelope screams. “No minimum transfer balance!”

“Well that’s a good deal,” we think, opening the envelope to get more details.

Hidden in the fine print, we find the catch: after that 24-month introductory interest rate of 0% expires, the rate on the card goes up to 33.79%. In other words, the go-to rate, the rate we’re stuck with once the introductory rate expires, is dang near 34%, which is not a good deal at all.

Most go-to rates tend to fall somewhere between 12% and 29%. That’s a pretty big swing, which is why it’s important to ARFP: Always Read the Fine Print. If we pay off our cards every month like good little consumers, then we might care less about what the card’s interest rate is, because we’re not paying interest on a balance from month to month. But if we do carry a balance on one or more credit cards, we should definitely be paying attention to both introductory and go-to rates. Because if our credit is decent, there’s a chance we could save ourselves some money by switching to another card.