--- title: The Sneaky Way Credit Cards With 0% Intro APRs Trap You Into Debt description: New CFPB data shows cards with promotional 0% interest rates accounted for $899 billion in purchases in 2024. authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 134 covers: - Credit Cards - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Credit Cards - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-01-21T19:56:09.000Z' modified: '2026-01-21T19:56:09.000Z' section: Credit Cards tags: - News word_count: 622 canonical: https://money.com/0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Hand reaching for credit card in bear trap](https://img.money.com/2026/01/News-Credit-Card-0-Percent-APR-Debt-Trap.jpg) A credit card offering 0% interest may sound like a financial reset button. You know the drill: Buy now, pay later, with seemingly no penalty. But while these teaser-rate cards sell the illusion of breathing room, Americans are racking up record levels of [credit card debt](https://money.com/warning-signs-too-much-credit-card-debt/) and carrying balances that stick around long after the so-called "free” period ends. According to new [data](https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2025.pdf) from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the average credit card annual percentage rate, or APR, reached 25.2% in 2024 for standard cards and 31.3% for store cards. That same year, consumers paid a record $160 billion in interest charges (up from $105 billion in 2022) and another $31.3 billion in fees. Meanwhile, about 15% of cardholders now make only the minimum payment each month — the highest share in at least a decade. One reason those balances are proving so stubborn is the rapid growth of [credit cards](https://money.com/best-credit-cards/) offering 0% introductory APRs. ## How much are you paying in credit card interest? ### Debt Relief programs could combine multiple credit card balances into a single loan with a lower interest rate, helping simplify payments and lower costs over time. Click on your state to learn more. [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/r68c3ac0f92e?ap_referrer=%2F0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap%2F) In 2024, cards with promotional 0% interest rates accounted for $899 billion in purchases and $352 billion in outstanding balances by the end of the year, according to the CFPB. That's about one-third of all card spending and revolving debt. While these promotions can temporarily reduce the cost of carrying a balance, the CFPB found that accounts with teaser rates ultimately tend to wind up with higher long-term balances than cards without them. The problem is that most people don’t use the introductory period to zero out their balance. Only about 21% of cardholders with 0% APR promotions fully pay off their balances before the promotional period ends. And most (79%) carry a balance past the deadline, at which point interest kicks in — often at rates more than 25%. "Zero percent APR cards encourage overspending because there is no urgency," Eric Croak, a certified financial planner and president of Croak Capital, tells Money. "Once interest is eliminated, time becomes infinite. Spending $4,000 over 15 months doesn't sound so bad when you break it up into $267 payments. The purchase amount doesn't change, but the perception of it does." Card issuers don’t rely on low interest alone to pull people in. Nearly two-thirds of credit card offers with introductory 0% APRs also include a rewards-based welcome bonus, often tied to a spending threshold that has to be met in the first few months. Nearly all these cards charge no [annual fee](https://money.com/credit-card-annual-fees-near-1000/), which can lower the perceived costs of opening — and using — a new account. The result, the CFPB notes in the report, is that these promotions encourage people not only to open new cards but to continue spending well after the introductory period ends. "Your brain recognizes the reward now, and your payment is some undefined time in the future," Croak says. "Psychology changes actions quickly." Even after the promotional period ends, most cardholders stick around. Approximately 83% of cardholders do not cancel their credit cards when an introductory APR period ends, meaning fewer than 1 in 5 consumers close the account once the "free" borrowing period expires. More than half continue spending on the card after the promotional period. That persistence matters, because the same cards that encourage overspending often remain open after higher interest rates kick in — allowing balances to linger and interest charges to accumulate. "They give you time to 'figure things out,' but the reality is they allow you to forget," says Croak. "There is a mental disconnect between spending now and paying off later that only expands with time." ## Reduce payments and make debt manageable with a Debt Relief program ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/c3092389eeee?bidid=4127594545&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=671934694&ptoken=8d823105d4c75984e2a466b5067439e0) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/23879/medium_3847e650-29eb-411b-9b8c-05deb0d02cbc.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/e923334e2188?bidid=4127594546&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=671934694&ptoken=0b3fbf1cf70450810acd6a5161e9e1e8) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/15565/medium_832cc4b7-74f8-4735-8fe1-6917816cbe8d.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/4739d312f068?bidid=4127594543&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=671934694&ptoken=85c65b623369df01c088709df27cd9f0) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22445/medium_ba73f26a-1e1e-4e49-9739-df1298783de6.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/8e54b53b81e2?bidid=4127594549&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=671934694&ptoken=df3dce6ac2866208ea05301b4472a415) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/9246/medium_94931930-28cf-46b5-b09d-683979caec81.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/e6af7d0eb5e5?bidid=4127594547&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=671934694&ptoken=710e48c23c5a351effc9f49f420aeca7) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2F0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Credit Cards", "item": "https://money.com/credit-cards/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "The Sneaky Way Credit Cards With 0% Intro APRs Trap You Into Debt" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap/", "name": "The Sneaky Way Credit Cards With 0% Intro APRs Trap You Into Debt", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-01-21T19:56:09.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/0-percent-credit-cards-debt-trap/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-01-21T19:56:09.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "The Sneaky Way Credit Cards With 0% Intro APRs Trap You Into Debt", "articleSection": "Credit Cards", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/01/News-Credit-Card-0-Percent-APR-Debt-Trap.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Credit-Card-0-Percent-APR-Debt-Trap" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Liliana Hall", "url": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/#author", "description": "Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. 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