When you make a purchase with a deferred-interest promotion, your interest is deferred—in other words, it’s delayed.
You won’t pay interest on a qualifying transaction until the end of the deferred-interest period. And when the period ends, the credit card’s standard interest rate will apply.
But the standard rate won’t apply to just the remaining balance—or any future balance, for that matter. As the CFPB explains, “If you do not pay off the entire balance of the promotional purchase you’ve made on your card, then interest going back to the date of the purchase will be added on top of the remaining balance.”
That means that if you don’t pay off your balance before the end of the promotional period, you’ll owe all the interest that was deferred—as well as the remaining balance.
The bottom line: If you don’t pay off your purchase during the promotional period, a deferred-interest promotion may cost you more money than a zero-interest promotion.
Here are some things to keep in mind about deferred-interest promotions:
