A 0% introductory rate pauses interest for a set window. See how much that pause is worth on your balance.
APR — annual percentage rate — is the interest a card charges on the money you owe. When a card offers 0% APR for an introductory period, interest is switched off for that window. Every payment you make goes entirely toward the balance instead of being partly eaten by interest.
That's the whole appeal of a 0% balance transfer: you move high-interest debt onto the 0% card and get months of breathing room to pay it down without the balance growing.
The length of the 0% window matters as much as the rate. A longer promo gives you more months of interest-free payments. Here's what the same $8,000 balance looks like at different promo lengths, paying $400 a month:
Compared to leaving that $8,000 on a 22% card for the same period, a 0% card avoids roughly:
Our calculator ranks real 0% offers by promo length and fee so you can see which one saves you the most.
APR is the yearly interest rate on your balance. 0% APR means no interest is charged during the promotional period — so your payments reduce only the balance, not interest.
Introductory 0% APR periods on balance transfer cards typically run from 12 to 21 months. After that, the card's regular APR applies to any remaining balance.
It depends on your balance, your current rate, and the promo length. The higher your current APR and balance, the more you save. The calculator works out the exact figure for your situation across real offers.
Any balance left after the promo starts accruing interest at the card's standard rate. The goal is to pay off as much as you can while it's still 0%.
Plug in your balance and we'll show you exactly how much a balance transfer could save you, with the best card offers ranked for your situation.
Calculate My Savings