A few years back hubby purchased a used pickup truck and made the down payment with the friendly "no fee for 6 months" credit card. We were in the middle of refinancing so he figured he'd pay the bill in full once we received our dispersement- boy what a nightmare that was! After a whole mess of bills wiped out our "dispersement", hubby was stuck paying the credit card. Long story short the credit card company went from charging 21.00 finance charge on the big balance to 236.90 balance in addition to minimum payment (307.12 being the "minimum payment"). This lovely inflated number was a result of a penalty APR since I had made ONE partial payment and didn't notify them in advance. They considered it a no no
Fortunately we've since paid the bill in full but I've learned my lesson. Unless you have the money to pay the bills in full at the end of the month, STAY AWAY from credit cards!!!!!
Barb