Barclaycard Ring offers 0 percent intro APR for 15 months

Barclaycard has launched a new 0 percent introductory offer for the Barclaycard Ring Platinum Mastercard. Since the Barclaycard Ring card doesn’t charge a fee for balance transfers, the newly added introductory offer places the card among a handful of cards — including the Chase Slate card — that allow cardholders to transfer and pay off a balance without incurring fees or interest. The updated offer also may appeal to anyone interested in financing a big ticket purchase and not paying any interest for 15 months.

What makes this card stand out?

• Zero percent introductory APR on purchases — Cardholders will not pay an APR on purchases for the first 15 months.
• Zero percent introductory APR on balance transfers — Cardholders will not pay an APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within the first 45 days of opening an account.
• No balance transfer fees — Cardholders are not charged a fee for transferring a balance to the card, even after the introductory period passes.
• No foreign transaction fees — Cardholders are not charged foreign transaction fees for card purchases made while traveling abroad.
• Low APR for cash advances — The card charges the same 13.49 percent APR for cash advances as it does for regular purchases.
• Chip card technology — The card includes an EMV chip that provides security when paying for items at chip-card terminals around the world.
• Free credit score — Cardholders can access their FICO credit scores online at no charge.

Once the 15-month introductory APR period ends, the Barclaycard Ring card carries an APR of 13.49 percent. This is an increase of almost 5 percent from the previous APR, which was 8.5 percent. However, the tradeoff may be worthwhile, since the previous offer also did not carry a 0 percent introductory offer.

While the Barclaycard Ring does not have an annual fee, there are additional fees associated with the card. These fees include a late payment fee of up to $27 and a returned payment fee of up to $27 (fees vary by state). Card members are also charged $3 for each cash advance.

A community of card members

The Barclaycard Ring is a unique, community-based card that allows card members to vote on which features are offered by the card. Card members are able to share opinions and ideas, as well as have influence over product changes.

Additionally, the Barclaycard Ring Platinum card offers a “Giveback” program. Instead of earning rewards, cardholders take part in a profit-sharing program that allows everyone to receive a small percentage of the company’s profits. Card members can choose to either keep the amount in their accounts as a bonus credit or donate the amount to charity. A card member’s account must be in good standing at the time that the Giveback is distributed in order to receive the profits.

Although the Barclaycard Ring does not offer a rewards program, other benefits — such as the zero percent intro APR,  no annual fee and card community — help make the card more desirable.