Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    7,957.80
    +32.60 (+0.41%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6506
    -0.0055 (-0.83%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,703.20
    +27.40 (+0.36%)
     
  • OIL

    82.48
    -0.24 (-0.29%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,156.20
    -8.10 (-0.37%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    98,357.12
    -5,992.66 (-5.74%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

55 days or more: The credit cards with the longest interest-free periods

Give your finances some much needed breathing space with these interest-free credit cards.

Calendar with reminder to make a payment and a stack of credit cards.
Some lenders are offering credit card with a long interest-free period to help you get some breathing space. (Source: Getty)

This is part two of Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon’s two-part deep dive into the best credit cards on the market. Part one revealed the credit cards gifting new customers up to 300,000 points, and the magic limit to unlock an extra bonus. Read more here.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to lift the cash rate on Tuesday, for the ninth month in less than one year, and it’ll push more households than ever into financial crisis. This means smart money management has never been more important.

Credit cards with a long interest-free period could give you the breathing space that you need right now.

ADVERTISEMENT

Read more from Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon:

Here is a rundown of the credit cards with the most interest-free days, and some don’t even charge an annual fee.

The cards offering more 55 days interest-free, or more

Did you know that up to 110 cards are handing out more than 55 days interest-free?

If your purse strings are tight, that gives you almost three months for your income to catch up with your expenses.

This reprieve is with the humm90 Platinum Mastercard.

Note the $99 annual fee is also waived for the first year (but we will get to the cards with no annual fees at all, shortly).

Your interest-free period starts on day one of your statement cycle.

So, for purchases made on that day (or bills paid), you get the full 110 days.

“The good thing is, even if you purchase something on the very last day of your statement cycle, you still get at least 79 days interest-free (which is big!),” the humm90 website says.

I agree.

Typically, cards offering free days only offer a minimum 25 days interest-free.

The tricky part is that it’s a timing game.

You need to know the first date of your statement period and, if it helps you to maximise the delay ‘pay’, aim to do your spending then.

To round off the most generous cards out there, there are a couple of cards that are a bit more ‘interest absolving’ - offering up to 62 days.

You can see in the mozo table below that the annual fees are low, or there are none at all.

table of credit cards with he longest interest-free periods.
(Source: Mozo)

Where to get 55-days… for free

There are many credit cards offering 0 per cent interest for up to 55 days.

They also typically levy low interest, too.

These no-fee cards are the no-frills options.

They won’t offer any of the added bonuses of a credit card… for example, there will be no rewards points and no complimentary travel insurance, but the fee savings still might be worthwhile.

You still buy time to pay off your spend - usually the typical minimum 25 days to make the potential 55 days.

table of credit cards with he longest interest-free periods.
(Source: Mozo)

Already have a credit card debt racked up?

If you already have credit card debt, your best strategy would be to apply for a 0 per cent balance transfer offer.

These can give you up to 36 months interest free on the debt transferred from another card.

Just be sure to use the old, cleared card – on which you will again have triggered interest-free days – for new purchases.

Also, if you fail to pay off the new balance transfer card in the dedicated no-interest period, close it at the expiration of the deal, because the rate following the interest-free period will probably be high.

One final point: You need to be acutely aware that, with any interest-free credit card, cash advances are excluded from the deal.

You pay interest, probably at a higher cash-advance interest rate, from day one.

Get clever about your credit cards, though, and they could help you ride out this rate spike.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at www.nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow Nicole on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to the free daily newsletter.

https://confirmsubscription.com/h/j/EB7A898B7CA5EB39
https://confirmsubscription.com/h/j/EB7A898B7CA5EB39