Avoid paying interest for up to 21 months

You can use one of the best 0% introductory APR credit cards to make new purchases and not worry about interest for 15 to 21 months.

That gives you plenty of time to focus on paying off existing debt while not holding you back from covering other necessary expenses right now, including any large upcoming purchases. Even better, many 0% APR cards provide new cardholder bonuses and rewards that can help you save more money.

Here are the best options today and more about how to best use a 0% APR card.

Why we like it: The Capital One Savor Cash Rewards is one of the best credit cards for everyday earning because of its excellent rewards rate. With uncapped and elevated 3% rates in multiple categories, you can earn high amounts of cash back on purchases you’re already making, including groceries. As an added bonus for travelers, this card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Read our full Capital One Savor Cash Rewards review

Why we like it: The 0% introductory rate might be the starting point with the , but it provides much more in ongoing potential, especially if you like flexible redemptions. With its higher base rewards rate and useful spending categories, you can fuel your travels with rewards earned from everyday purchases or opt for cash-back rewards.

Read our full Chase Freedom Unlimited review

Learn more: See our picks for the best Chase credit card

Why we like it: On top of its long intro APR offer, the Amex Blue Cash Everyday also provides an excellent mix of elevated rewards and ongoing benefits, all with no annual cardmember cost. While you might find a card with a few of these perks, it’s rare to find one that has them all.

Read our full Amex Blue Cash Everyday review

Why we like it: The Capital One VentureOne Rewards makes sense if you want to earn straightforward travel rewards on your everyday spending. With no confusing bonus categories and no foreign transaction fees, you can focus on earning miles for your next trip.

Why we like it: The Wells Fargo Reflect is one of the best cards available for a long 0% intro offer on its APR. Having 21 months of 0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers means you get, on average, six to nine months more time to avoid paying interest than other similar cards.

Read our full Wells Fargo Reflect review

Why we like it: The Amex Blue Cash Preferred has one of the highest cash-back rates available for making purchases in common spending categories, especially for a low-annual-fee card. This is an excellent card if you want to turn your everyday purchases into valuable cash-back rewards.

Why we like it: Few rewards credit cards provide more than 2% or 3% back on purchases, but you can earn up to 5% cash back with the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card. You do need to keep track of quarterly categories and activate them, but that’s a small price to pay for the amount of rewards you can earn on common purchases.

Read our full Discover it Cash Back Credit Card review

We generally recommend the cards on our best list if you’re looking for 0% intro APR offers, but here are some additional credit card offers that can work depending on your situation and preferences.

Why we like it: The Citi Custom Cash makes sense if you want your rewards rate to reflect your top purchases each billing cycle. With this card, you earn 5% back in your top eligible category on up to $500 each billing cycle. That means you could earn 5% back on restaurants one month and 5% back on grocery stores after that, giving you plenty of flexibility with your earning potential.

Read our full Citi Custom Cash Card review

Why we like it: The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards lets you customize how you earn rewards by choosing a 3% cash-back category once per calendar month. This gives you some flexibility with earning more cash back as you align your choice category with your upcoming expenses.

Read our full Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards review

Why we like it: The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa provides up to 5% cash back with its rewards rate, which is among the highest rates you can find on rewards credit cards. There’s a limit on how much you can earn at this rate each quarter, but it’s a reasonable cap of $2,000, especially for a no-annual-fee card. It’s also nice that you have the option to choose two 5% categories each quarter, giving you flexibility over how you earn rewards.

A 0% intro APR credit card lets you avoid paying interest on purchases for a set period of time. This allows you to carry a balance without worrying about racking up any interest until the end of the introductory period, though a high balance could affect your credit score and you’re still responsible for making minimum payments.

The intro period starts upon account opening and typically lasts 12 to 15 months, with some longer offers lasting 18 to 21 months.

Unlike most balance transfers, you don’t have to pay a fee to take advantage of a 0% purchase APR. However, you still want to pay off your balance before the promotional period ends. Otherwise, interest will start to accrue.

Read more: What is APR on a credit card?

• 0% APR offer length: In general, the longer the intro period, the better. However, the average length of 12 to 15 months should be good enough for most people before the variable APR kicks in.

• Balance transfer offer: Many of the cards on this list are also balance transfer credit cards because they have 0% intro APR offers on balance transfers. You can take advantage of these offers to transfer existing debt to one of these cards and not pay interest during the offer period. You still have to cover a balance transfer fee and you can only transfer up to your available credit limit.

• Annual fee: We typically only recommend paying an annual fee on a credit card if you get enough value from the card’s benefits to offset the yearly membership cost. Fortunately, the best 0% APR credit cards don’t tend to have annual fees.

• Rewards program: What are you supposed to do with a 0% APR card after the offer period ends? If it’s a rewards card, you can continue using it to earn valuable points, miles, or cash back on your purchases.

• Credit requirements: Many 0% APR credit cards require a good or excellent credit score to qualify, which is at least a 670 FICO score.

• APR: Most credit card annual percentage rates are high, so it’s typically not best to choose between cards based on the APR unless there’s a 0% intro APR offer.

It can make sense to apply for a 0% intro APR credit card for multiple reasons:

1. You have existing debt. You can use a 0% APR credit card as a way to help cover new purchases without accruing interest. This can give you some room in your budget to pay off existing debt.

2. You have upcoming large purchases. You can use a 0% APR credit card to make a large purchase and then take your time (during the introductory offer period) to pay it off without interest building. This lets you hold onto cash for other necessary purchases while still making interest-free payments.

3. It’s an emergency. This type of situation can vary, like being between jobs, but you can use a 0% APR credit card to make necessary purchases without interest accruing.

The important thing to remember is that 0% APR credit cards are still credit cards. When you use credit, you’re borrowing money from a financial institution that you have to repay, whether there’s interest or not. That means it’s still essential to responsibly use credit cards by making on-time monthly payments by the due date and not borrowing more credit than you can afford.

It’s worth noting that carrying a large balance on a credit card, even during a 0% introductory offer period, can negatively impact your credit score because of high credit utilization, or the percentage of the total amount of credit you’re using.

Credit cards with long 0% introductory APR offers include:

• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

• Chase Freedom Unlimited®

• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

• Wells Fargo Reflect® Card

• Discover it® Cash Back

• Citi Custom Cash® Card

• Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card

• U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card

Getting approved for a new card with a 0% intro rate can be an excellent way to reduce credit card debt. The promotional period lets you pay your balance without worrying about interest charges, which is often better than alternative repayment strategies, such as using a cash advance from another credit card.

You typically need good to excellent credit to qualify for a 0% APR credit card. That’s a FICO score of at least 670 and a VantageScore of at least 661. A higher credit score could improve your chances of getting approved for a 0% interest credit card.

A 0% interest rate credit card can hurt your credit if your credit utilization is too high from carrying a high balance. You could also see a small impact on your credit score from applying for a new card. However, a 0% intro APR credit card could help with building credit over time and increasing your overall creditworthiness if you keep your card account active and make on-time payments.

To find the best 0% APR cards today, we started with a list of all cards from major credit card issuers that offer an introductory 0% APR, which was nearly 30 eligible credit cards. This list did not include every available card from every credit card company.

We added the cards from this list to a rubric to rate each card based on various criteria, including 0% intro APR periods, rewards, annual fees, and more.

Our final list includes highly-rated cards, based on our rubric, experience, and expert opinion, that we think could make sense for people researching 0% APR credit cards.

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn’t include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.