Play your credit cards for interest free loan

What could be better than a credit card deal with zero-percent interest? An interest-free card deal that lasts and lasts. The latest round of credit card offers boasts some seriously good terms. If you play your cards right, you could treat yourself to a one-year, interest-free loan. "It is a great opportunity if you make a concerted effort to get rid of the debt," says Susan Zimmerman, a chartered financial consultant in St. Paul, Minn., and the author of The Power in Your Money Personality. "Really try to get a disciplined spending and debt repayment plan in place so you can sort of beat them at their own game." To do so, you'll need to qualify for one of these super-long zero-percent deals, follow the rules to the T and pay off your balance before the teaser rate ends. "To a certain segment of disciplined consumers, it's a wonderful opportunity," Zimmerman says. Let's take a closer look at the deals. If you've got good credit, it's been hard to open your mailbox recently without a zero-percent credit card offer falling out. "The zero percent is a good way to hook somebody," says Howard Dvorkin, president of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"All the credit card companies are having a hard time finding good, qualified people to lend money to."  Fierce competition for good credit customers has forced issuers to come up with new ways to sweeten zero-percent deals. The result? Everything from super-long teaser rate periods to zero-percent deals on both purchases and balance transfers and even zero-percent offers on cash advances.

Discover's Platinum MasterCard woos customers with a zero-percent interest rate on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. Bank One's Platinum Visa Card promises zero-percent on purchases and transferred balances for 12 months, followed by a 8.9 percent variable interest rate.

Chase Platinum Plus MasterCard comes with zero-percent teaser rates on cash advances and transferred balances for 12 months. Pay attention to the details
As good as these deals seem, you'll want to pay close attention to the details.
That Platinum Plus card from Chase charges a 3-percent fee on transferred balances and cash advance checks. The minimum fee for a transferred balance or cash advance is $5. The maximum fee you'll pay is $50.

Here are some key questions to ask as you comb through the offer:
How long does the introductory rate last?
What is the card's annual percentage rate after a teaser rate expires?
Does the teaser rate apply to transferred balances or new purchases or both?
Does the card charge a balance-transfer fee?
What about late fees and over-the-limit fees?