Interest Free Period

1) Many credit cards are now offered with either an initial period free of interest or free interest on balance transfer. These introductory offers tend to be for periods of between 6 and 12 months although some card issuers promise no interest on any outstanding balances transferred until you pay them off. Do bear in mind there may be strings attached to offers like this, including requirements that you make further purchases on the new card.

2) You can get almost two months' interest free credit on your credit card providing you play the game carefully. Make sure you have a credit card that only charges from the statement date and that only imposes interest if you do not settle the statement in full. In practice this means you can get yourself a maximum of 56 days, almost two months, interest-free credit: your earliest transaction may be up to 31 days before the statement while card issuers usually allow a further 25 days for payment to be made. Be aware that certain transactions, such as cash withdrawals and credit card cheques may attract interest immediately.

See also: Financial Services