American Express 0% APR Credit Cards

The longest American Express introductory 0% APR periods right now are the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express’s offer of 0% for 15 months on purchases, and the American Express Cash Magnet® Card’s offer of 0% for 15 months on purchases.

At the moment, no American Express-issued credit card offers an introductory 0% APR for balance transfers.

Keep in mind, though, that these 0% APR deals change frequently. These are the longest 0% interest periods available on Amex currently, but this could change, so it’s a good idea to double-check before you apply for a card.

The Amex EveryDay APR is 0% for the first 15 months your account is open. After that, it could be anywhere between 12.99% - 23.99% (V). The exact number will depend on your creditworthiness, and will be determined when you open your account. You won’t have to pay any interest on purchases if you always pay off your balance by the due date, 25 days after the end of billing cycle.

The purchase APR is the most widely applicable rate, but purchases aren’t the only transactions Amex charges interest on. I’ll go through the rest below.

Here are all the different types of Amex EveryDay APR:

• Introductory Purchase APR: 0% for 15 months.
• Regular APR: 12.99% - 23.99% (V), based on creditworthiness. Your purchases will accrue interest at this rate once the 15 months introductory period is over.
• Cash Advance APR: 25.24% (V). Interest starts accumulating as soon as you withdraw your cash. And there’s a fee of 5% (min $10) for each cash advance transaction.
• Penalty APR: 29.24%. The penalty APR can be applied once you miss a payment or have a payment returned. You can get it withdrawn by making six consecutive payments on time.
• Plan It Fee: The Amex Plan It feature allows you to pay off large purchases into monthly payments for a fixed monthly fee rather than the purchase APR. You won’t pay fees for the 15 months introductory APR period. After that, the monthly fee along with the number of purchases and plans you can combine and their duration will vary based on factors such as creditworthiness, purchase amount(s) and your account history.

The Amex EveryDay APR you get will depend on the transaction you’re making, when you’re making it, and your creditworthiness. Amex EveryDay offers 10,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. And it earns 2 points per $1 spent on travel booked through amextravel.com and at supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year), and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases so it’s best used as an everyday spending-rewards card.

It’s worth noting that other cards offer both longer intro periods and lower finance charges. For example, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card interest-free period for purchases is 20 billing cycles (14.49% - 24.49%* (V), based on creditworthiness, thereafter). And the Simmons Bank Visa® regular APR is 8.25% (V).

Yes, American Express and Best Buy have an offer known as the Pay with Points program. It allows you to redeem earned American Express Membership Rewards points toward purchases on BestBuy.com. You can use Pay with Points on all purchases except e-gift cards. The offer applies only to online purchases; in-store purchases are not eligible.

You earn Membership Rewards points with every qualifying purchase you make with an American Express rewards points card. Points can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, merchandise and more, for up to 1 cent per point.

Here’s how the American Express – Best Buy program works:

• You do not need a BestBuy.com online account to use Pay with Points. You can also redeem points when checking out as a guest. There is no fee to redeem points on BestBuy.com.
• When you’re ready to check out at BestBuy.com, enter your eligible American Express card information and click “See Points Balance” to view the available points balance and their dollar value.
• If you already have an eligible American Express card saved to your Bestbuy.com account, after you first click “See Points Balance”, you will automatically be shown your points balance during future checkouts with BestBuy.com.
• Select the number of rewards points you’d like to apply to your purchase. You can choose to pay for your entire purchase or only part of it using your American Express Membership Rewards points. You can also combine any Best Buy rewards certificates or gift cards in your Pay with Points purchase. Then, enter the dollar amount you would like applied to your purchase and finalize the checkout process.
• You will receive a statement credit for the cash equivalent of all points redeemed within 2-4 business days of the purchase. If you redeem points for part of your purchase, the remaining balance will be charged to your American Express card.

Aside from the Pay with Points program, Amex Offers is a discount program offered through select American Express cards. So if you’re an American Express cardholder, it’s definitely worth checking out Amex Offers and seeing which brands you may get discounts for.

The American Express interest rate is 13.99% (V) to 24.74% (V), depending on creditworthiness and the specific American Express credit card. Some American Express cards also offer a 0% introductory interest rate, lasting for a specified number of months. The EveryDay, Blue Cash EveryDay, and Cash Magnet cards offer 0% interest for 15 months on purchases. With the Blue Cash Preferred and EveryDay Preferred cards, you can make purchases for 12 months at 0% interest.

An American Express card with a 0% interest rate allows you to finance big-ticket purchases for several months without the costly interest charges.

Business owners have four American Express 0% interest rate credit cards at their disposal. The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is the best of the lot with a 0% interest rate for 12 months on Purchases. The Blue Business Cash card also gives you 0% interest for 12 months on purchases only. 

American Express Interest Rates by Card:

• Amex Everyday card: 12.99% - 23.99% (V)
• EveryDay Preferred: 12.99% - 22.99% (V)
• Blue Cash Everyday: 13.99% - 23.99% (V)
• Cash Magnet: 13.99% - 23.99% (V)
• Blue Business Plus: 13.24% - 19.24% (V)
• Blue Cash Preferred: 13.99% - 23.99% (V)
• Blue Business Cash: 13.24% - 19.24% (V)

You will need good to excellent credit to qualify for an American Express credit card with a 0% interest rate. That’s a credit score from 700 to 749 (good) and 750+ (excellent). American Express will also review your payment history, employment, income, your level of debt, and other factors. If you’re applying for a business credit card, your personal credit history will play a significant role in the evaluation process.

The American Express Platinum card interest rate is around 15.99% to 22.99% (V) for purchases made using the card’s Pay Over Time feature, depending on the cardholder’s credit history and American Express account history, among other factors. The Pay Over Time feature applies to purchases of $100 or more that Amex approves for a longer payment period. American Express Platinum card does not have an interest rate for other purchases because it is a hybrid card (combining features of a regular credit card and those of a charge cared), which means a cardholder must pay off all purchases not included in the Pay Over Time balance in full every month.

American Express Platinum card also charges a penalty interest rate for late payments of 29.99% (V) and a cash advance interest rate of 25.24% (V) (each cash advance transaction is also subject to a 5% (min $10) fee). The penalty rate applies if you don’t pay the regular balance in full each billing period. For cash advances, American Express charges interest daily beginning on the transaction date.

The Amex EveryDay does not have a balance transfer fee. That is because the Amex EveryDay does not allow balance transfers at all, so you will have to look for a different credit card to help reduce the cost of existing high-interest debt.

While the Amex EveryDay does not allow balance transfers, it still makes for a decent financing option as it features an introductory purchase APR of 0% for 15 months (12.99% - 23.99% (V), based on creditworthiness, thereafter). And it has a $0 annual fee.

If you are looking to transfer a balance, some credit cards have no balance transfer fees. But sometimes, the best balance transfer credit cards will come with a longer 0% introductory APR period that warrants a balance transfer fee. A balance transfer calculator can also help you figure out how much you can save with a balance transfer.

The best way to get American Express to lower the interest rate on your credit card is to call their customer service line at (800) 528-4800 and get on the phone with a representative. You can do this by saying “representative” to the automated customer service menu. Simply asking can be more effective than you might think. For example, around 8 in 10 credit card users who’ve threatened to cancel their cards if they didn’t get better terms have been successful with that strategy at least once, according to reports online. People are about twice as likely to get a fee waived than a lower APR, though, so keep that in mind as you go forward.

Before calling, make sure you know your current interest rate (APR is always listed on statements) and your account or card number. You’ll also have better negotiating power if you’re aware of how long you’ve been an American Express cardholder and what your payment history is like.

If you don’t get a lower interest rate over the phone, it’s worth noting that your Amex card may offer Plan It – an option to break up eligible purchases of $100 or more into installments over a set period of time, without your normal interest charges. Instead of charging interest on these purchases, Amex charges a “plan fee,” which includes a percentage of the purchase amount and a percentage of the APR that would otherwise be charged.

The plan durations and fees will depend on your creditworthiness, but you can sign in to the American Express app to see if your purchases are eligible for Plan It. Plan durations can be from 3 to 24 months.

The Amex Blue Cash Everyday APR is 13.99% - 23.99% (V), following an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months on purchases. Amex Blue Cash Everyday’s regular APR being listed as a range means you won’t know exactly what your rate will be until you’re approved for the card. But the better your credit standing is, the better chance you should have of getting a rate at the low end of the range.

The best way to completely sidestep the Amex Blue Cash Everyday APR is to pay off your full balance by every due date, at least after the interest-free intro period. You should also steer clear of any cash advances. Amex Blue Cash Everyday has an even higher APR for those: 25.24% (V).

Yes, there are some promotional interest rates at American Express. These cards offer 0% purchase intro APR for certain periods of time:

• American Express Cash Magnet Card with 0% for 15 months
• Blue Cash Everyday Card with 0% for 15 months
• Blue Cash Preferred Card with 0% for 12 months

An introductory APR is a promotional interest rate given to new customers for a limited period of time after they open an account. It could mean Purchase APR or Transfer APR, or both, depending on the card you choose.

The minimum payment for an American Express credit card is generally $35 or 1% of your balance, plus fees and interest, whichever is higher. Cardholders can always find their required minimum payment listed on their monthly account statement.

You can learn more about the importance of making at least minimum monthly payments (and what happens if you don't) from WalletHub's guide on paying credit card bills.