Are All Purchases Included In The 0% Purchase Rate?

The short answer to this is “yes”, however we need to apply some definitions to this to make sure we understand what exactly count as “purchases”.

Purchases on credit cards are usually defined as goods or services from retailers or companies. This will clearly include goods both in the high street or over the Internet, and such things as utility bills you have set your credit card up to pay off – although it is always a good idea to verify whether such bills are included in the 0% purchases offer. Provided you are sticking to these definitions, you should be able to avoid paying interest within the offer period.

Where you must be very careful is with cash transactions. These are never included in a 0% purchases offer. The obvious example of this would be if you withdraw cash from an ATM. In this case, you could not be considered to have made a purchase. You would not describe the act of withdrawing cash on a debit card as “buying some money”, and the same goes for a credit card. This is clearly a cash transaction. The same criteria applies to getting cashback in a supermarket or other merchant location.

Where you may come a little unstuck is with the further definitions of cash transactions. Any gambling transaction is a cash transaction because you are, in effect, taking cash in the form of chips. Equally, although you may consider that you are purchasing traveller’s cheques, you are again making a cash transaction because the cheques are the equivalent of cash. This is easier to see if you are purchasing foreign currency with your credit card, because the thing you are receiving is evidently cash, even though it is in a different currency.

Remember that the purchases that do enjoy the 0% rate only do so if you are able to pay them offer before the offer period expires. Do not make the mistake of thinking this 0% rate applies to all purchases you make in the offer period until they are paid off, however long that takes. Just as any subsequent purchases beyond this time will attract the higher regular APR, so too will any outstanding balance left over from within your offer period.

You should also be aware that a card that only has a 0% purchases offer is not good for making a balance transfer to. These are also not included at 0%, unless the card carries a combined offer on purchases and balance transfers.

Related posts:

1. The Truth about Promotional Purchase Rate Credit Card Offers
2. How To Make A Decision Before Making A Purchase
3. St George Vertigo: Purchase & Balance Transfer Rate Dropped for the first 6 months
4. Credit Card Feature: Purchase Protection
5. How To Finance Your Next Purchase
6. What Happens At The End Of The 0% Interest Purchases Period?
7. Are There Any Hidden Charges With 0% Purchases Credit Cards?

Editor's Choice: Our Top Credit Cards

Credit Card	Card Details	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Interest free days (up to)
St George Vertigo	Editor's Choice: Low Interest Low 2.99% for 6 months (reverts to 11.99%) p.a. interest rate and balance transfer rate, from one of Australia's most respected banks.	2.99% for 6 months (reverts to 11.99%)	20.74%	2.99% for 6 months	$55	55
Coles Group Source MasterCard	The Coles Group Source MasterCard has no annual fee, a 0% p.a. balance transfer offer for 6 months, with a rewards program including savings on fuel and FlyBuys Points	19.74%	21.99%	0% for 6 months	$0	62
Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard	Editor's Choice: No Annual Fee Excellent introductory offer with a $0 annual fee for the life of the credit card and a 1.99% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers	16.99%	16.99%	1.99% for 9 months	$0	55