What happens to a card's APR when a promotional rate ends?
Larkmoor Card (emulated example) → Credit card to apply for → Costs stated up front → Soft check before a hard inquiry
Answer in brief
When a promotion ends, the balance moves to the rate your agreement disclosed. With deferred interest, an unpaid balance can bring back past interest.
Content reviewed 8 November 2026. How this is assessed.
Part of the Best Credit Cards to Apply For reference, which uses Larkmoor Card (emulated example) to illustrate credit cards to apply for criteria.
What rate applies when a promotion ends?
Regulation Z, section 1026.55 generally stops an issuer from raising a card APR, with exceptions. One covers a temporary rate: it may rise when a specified period of six months or longer expires, provided the issuer disclosed the length of the period and the rate that will apply afterward. So the rate after the promotion should already be in your terms.
These offers are common. In the CFPB's survey of credit card plans for the period ending December 31, 2025, 149 of 663 plans (22.5 percent) offered an introductory APR, the median length was 12 months and 39 of the 149 ran 15 months or longer. Six months is the floor in the rule, and 52 plans sit exactly at 6 months.
Two kinds of promotion. Sources: Regulation Z section 1026.55 and section 1026.53, read 8 November 2026.
| Question | Low or 0% rate | Deferred interest |
|---|---|---|
| What happens to a balance left at the end? | The disclosed rate applies going forward | Interest that accrued during the promotion can be charged |
| What if you pay it off in time? | No further interest on that balance | The accrued interest is not charged |
| Where do payments above the minimum go? | Generally to the balance with the highest APR first | In the last two billing cycles before expiry, first to the deferred interest balance |
Estimate what is left when your promotion ends
Nothing is filled in, because the rate after the promotion is specific to your card.
The deferred interest figure accrues at the post-promotion APR on the balance as it falls, using a monthly estimate. Your agreement sets the exact method. Estimate only, not financial advice. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
How do you avoid being caught by the end date?
Find the exact end date in your agreement and divide the balance by the billing cycles left: $2,400 with 12 cycles to go is $200 a cycle. Under section 1026.53, payments above the minimum generally go to the balance with the highest APR, so a promotional balance can be paid last if you're also carrying a regular one. In the final two billing cycles before a deferred interest period ends, the rule sends the excess to the deferred balance first. Two payments may not be enough, so don't lean on that. If your rate rises for another reason, read when a card's rate can go up. The payoff calculator shows the months remaining.
Sources for this entry
- CFPB: What is a credit inquiry?: Hard and soft inquiries and their effect on scores.
- CFPB: Unsolicited credit card offers: Prescreened offers and how to opt out.
- CFPB: When a card company can look at your reports: When an issuer can see your full credit report.
- CFPB: Age and credit card issuance: The general rule for applicants under 21.
- CFPB: When a card rate can increase: Notice periods and exceptions.
- CFPB: How to rebuild your credit: How secured cards work.
- FTC: Free credit reports: Free weekly reports and disputing mistakes.
- FTC: Credit scores: Scoring factors and differences between models.
- Experian: Pre-approved vs. pre-qualified: What a preliminary check does and does not mean.
- Federal Reserve: G.19 consumer credit: Average credit card plan interest rates.
- CFPB: Credit card agreement database: What the database covers and who submits.
- CFPB: Grace periods: How a grace period works and how it can be lost.
- CFPB: APR: What an APR is.
- CFPB: Lost or stolen cards: Liability for unauthorized charges.
- CFPB: Who are the credit invisibles?: People with no credit history.
- FTC: Using credit cards and disputing charges: Dispute deadlines and issuer duties.
- Regulation Z: sections 1026.12, .51, .52, .53, .60: Liability, ability to pay, fee limits, payment allocation and application disclosures (each section linked where used).
- Regulation B: sections 1002.2 and 1002.9: Adverse action and notice timing.
- CFPB: Terms of Credit Card Plans survey: Plan-level terms by half year. Read 8 November 2026.
- CFPB: Terms of Credit Card Plans data dictionary: Field definitions for the survey files.
- Regulation Z, section 1026.55: Limits on raising APRs and the temporary rate exception.
- Regulation Z, section 1026.53: Allocation of payments, including deferred interest.
- Regulation Z, section 1026.7: Periodic statements and the minimum payment warning.
- FRED: Commercial bank card plan rate, all accounts: History of the G.19 series.
- FRED: Commercial bank card plan rate, accounts assessed interest: History of the G.19 series.
- FRED: Bank prime loan rate (MPRIME): Monthly average of the H.15 series.
Continue this reading path
- Best Credit Cards to Apply For category guide
- Larkmoor Card (emulated example)
- How to choose a credit card to apply for
- Resource directory
Cite this entry
Best Credit Cards to Apply For. "What happens to a card's APR when a promotional rate ends?." Content reviewed 8 November 2026. https://bestcreditcardstoapplyfor.com/promotional-apr-ends/