What is a revolving credit card and how can I find out if I have one

Wondering what a revolving credit card is? If you have the feeling that your debt has no end, you may have one of these cards. This is an important aspect to help start identifying it. But there’s more. We’ll tell you all the key details to find out if your credit card is a revolving card and if you’re paying much more than you should be.

Let’s start from the beginning, what exactly is a revolving credit card?

Revolving credit cards are credit cards that give you a certain credit limit that you can then pay back in regular instalments, under the terms you have chosen. This means it can be paid back in fixed monthly instalments, for example, of €150 per month. Or as a percentage of the debt, for example, 10% of the amount owed.

Differences between a conventional credit card and a revolving card

Moving on to the next step, what exactly is the difference between these two types of card? We’ll explain it in plain terms.

On one hand, if you have a conventional credit card and you make a purchase, you pay the financial entity the amount due in full, the following month. And the debt is then paid off.

Whereas, if you have a revolving credit card, you pay the money you have borrowed in several (usually monthly) instalments with very high interest rates. This means that most of what you pay back in these instalments are interest and fees on the card, but only a small amount of what you have actually borrowed. So, your debt is dragged out over time.

What are revolving credit cards?

The first thing we want you to know is that there isn’t a closed or predetermined catalogue. There are loads. And they’re usually more frequent in financed credit or personal loan companies.

Here is a list of some revolving credit cards that have excessive interest rates. Although, as we said, there are many others:

1. WiZink
2. Repsol
3. Cofidis
4. Barclaycard
5. Oney Alcampo
6. Carrefour Pass
7. Citibank
8. Affinity Card
9. Vodafone-Bankinter
10. Cetelem
11. Eroski Visa
12. El Corte Inglés
13. BBVA
14. EVO Finance
15. Santander Consumer Finance
16. IKEA VISA
17. CaixaBank Consumer & Finance

How do I know if I have a revolving credit card?

An easy way to find out is by considering these 3 things:

1. Your card has excessive interest rates. Between 20% and 30% Annual Percentage Rate (APR). We’ll explain below how you can find out the APR on your card.
2. There is a lack of transparency in what you have contracted. For example, if the term or the amount due are not easily identified.
3. The payments never end. You can’t see an end to the outstanding debt.

I think I have a revolving card, what can I do?

First of all, we want to put your mind at ease, because if you discover you have one of these cards, you can claim to cancel the contract and get the money back that you overpaid. We’ll tell you the key details.

To find out if your card has excessive interest rates or contains unfair terms, you can take a look at the fine print of your contract or at the APR that should appear on your bank statement if you can’t locate the contract. If your APR is higher than the average credit card interest rate (around 20%), you can claim.

But that’s not all. If your contract contains clauses on interest that is compounded or if there isn’t a clause that specifies the interest rate or the APR, your contract lacks transparency. Therefore, it’s unfair and you also have the right to claim.

I want to make a claim on my revolving credit card

What does ‘compounded interest’ mean?

The fact that these cards are so appealing is because they’re often sold as easy to pay back cards because the monthly instalments are low. The problem is that sometimes they are so low that they don’t cover the interest and fees mentioned before. This means the interest is added to the debt as capital and in turn generates even more interest. In other words, the debt is constantly increasing. This is why the consumer ends up feeling that even though they have borrowed such a small amount, it never gets paid off.

How can I make a claim?

To make a claim on your card you don’t have to see a lawyer in person, or go anywhere else for that matter. You also don’t have to make any payments upfront. At in99 we’ll explain everything, step by step and make it easy for you to begin your claim straight away without having to worry about a thing. Without having to go anywhere. And in less than 99 seconds.

I want to make a claim on my revolving credit card