ZeroEnds
Promo deadline · not a suggestion

Your 0% APR has an expiration date. The balance left that day is what gets expensive.

When the intro period ends, the leftover balance starts accruing at your card's real APR — often 25–30%. Enter your numbers to see exactly what to pay each month so there's nothing left when the clock runs out.

01What actually happens when a 0% intro APR ends

On a true intro-APR offer, nothing retroactive happens — the remaining balance simply starts accruing at the card's regular APR from that day forward, typically somewhere between 25% and 30% in 2026. The trap isn't a penalty; it's arithmetic. Carrying $4,000 past the cliff at 29% costs roughly $97 a month in interest you weren't paying the day before.

The fix is equally arithmetic: divide what you owe by the months you have left. That's the whole strategy. The calculator above does it with your real dates and shows whether your current payment actually gets there.

02Deferred interest is a different animal entirely

"No interest if paid in full" ≠ 0% APR Store-card financing usually isn't a true 0% APR — it's deferred interest. The interest accrues silently from day one, and if any balance at all remains when the period ends, the entire accrued amount — calculated on your original purchase, not the leftover — lands on your statement at once. Paying 99% of it off isn't 99% safe; it's 0% safe.

if your financing came from a furniture store, jeweler, electronics retailer, or medical provider, assume deferred interest until the paperwork proves otherwise, and aim to finish a full month early.

03The payment math, and why autopay misses it

Card minimum payments are calculated to keep you borrowing, not to land you at $0 by your promo deadline — a $4,000 balance with a 2% minimum pays down barely half of it in 15 months. Set your own fixed payment (balance ÷ months left) as an autopay amount, and put the end date itself on your calendar — the reminder button above does it in one click.

04If the math says you won't make it

Be straight: you have three levers. Raise the monthly payment; move the remaining balance to a new 0% balance-transfer offer before the deadline (typically costs a 3–5% transfer fee — cheaper than 29% APR, but only if you actually pay it down during the new window); or, worst case, prioritize this balance over everything except minimums elsewhere once the rate jumps, because it's almost certainly your most expensive debt from that day on.

Working on your credit score too? A reported balance is photographed on your statement closing date — ReportsLow tells you what to pay before the snapshot.