First Hawaiian Bank Heritage Card

First Hawaiian Bank Heritage Card Review

The Heritage Card from First Hawaiian Bank is this financial institution’s most basic credit card. As such, it doesn’t offer any rewards to cardholders. Additionally, this credit card doesn’t include many unique perks. However, cardholders don’t have to pay an annual fee to use this card. What’s more, this card offers First Hawaiian’s most generous introductory interest rate. For eight months, new cardholders can take advantage of an APR that is nearly one-sixth of the regular interest rate on purchases.

What’s more, this promotional APR also applies to balance transfers for eight months. As a Mastercard® credit card, the Heritage card also offers a few built-in benefits to cardholders. These include rental car perks, extended warranties, and price protections. Learn more about these perks and other details of this card in the sections below.

Reduced APR on Purchases

The First Hawaiian Bank Heritage Card’s few perks includes a reduced introductory APR on purchases. This card offers the lowest introductory interest rate of First Hawaiian’s credit card offerings. This rate is nearly half of what other First Hawaiian cards offer customers. It’s also about one-sixth of the regular APR. The promotional period begins on the date that you sign up for this card. From the date, you have eight months to take advantage of a reduced interest rate on all your purchases. This is a great deal for people who need to finance a large purchase.

If you need to furnish a house, for example, you can purchase everything you need for your home right after receiving your card. You then have eight months to pay off that purchase without having to pay anything extra. However, you should make sure to identify what you need to purchase before you sign up for this card. This way, you can maximize the amount of time you have to pay it off. You should also make sure that you will be able to pay off your purchase in eight months. For instance, a $16,000 purchase will require you to make monthly payments of $2,000. It’s recommended that you make credit card payments in cash, so that you don’t fall into unmanageable debt. $2,000 of your funds can be a lot of money and cause some financial stress if you have a limited income.

Also remember that after the eight-month promotional period ends, any remaining balance will automatically accrue interest. If eight months isn’t enough time to pay off your purchase, you may want to consider a retailer’s financing options, instead.

Reduced APR on Balance Transfers

The First Hawaiian Bank Heritage Card offers the same reduced interest rate for eight months on balance transfers. However, there is an additional requirement to consider in order to take advantage of this feature. You must transfer a balance from another credit card within 30 days after signing up for this credit card. However, the promotional interest period begins on the date that you open an account and not the date that you make the transfer. This differentiates the Heritage Credit Card from many other credit cards offering balance transfer offers. These cards may extend a promotional interest rate period that begins on the date that you make the transfer.

Nevertheless, this offer can help many people reduce existing credit card debt. If you have a balance on a high-interest credit card, you may want to take advantage of this deal. However, you should calculate how much your monthly payments will be before you transfer a balance. As previously stated, it’s advised that you make credit card payments with cash. If you have an $8,000 balance on a higher-interest card, you will have to make $1,000 monthly payments to pay it off in eight months. As with the purchase APR promotion, any balance that remains after eight months will automatically accrue interest. If you have a particularly large credit card balance, you may want to consider another balance transfer credit card with more favorable terms.

Extra Mastercard® Perks

The First Hawaiian Bank Heritage Card doesn’t really offer many perks besides the low introductory APRs. However, this credit card is part of the Mastercard® payment network. As such, cardholders have access to some basic Mastercard® benefits.

A popular benefit is the supplemental auto insurance that you received when you pay for a rental vehicle with your Heritage Mastercard®. Mastercard will cover physical damage to the vehicle, loss of use charges, and towing charges. What’s more, you can use these benefits almost anywhere in the world. Cardholders also have access to extended warranties on items you purchase with your Mastercard®. This credit card company can extend the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to 12 additional months.

Furthermore, you can take advantage of the price protection feature of this card if you purchase something but find a better price for it later. All you have to do is submit a printed or digital advertisement that lists the item for less than what you paid for it. Mastercard® will reimburse you the difference in price.

Should You Apply for the First Hawaiian Bank Heritage Card?

First Hawaiian Bank primarily caters to residents of Hawaii and a few Pacific Islands that are US territories. As such, you may not see much advantage to applying to this card if you don’t reside somewhere with access to a physical branch. The Heritage Card is a very basic credit card. It doesn’t charge cardholders an annual fee, but it also doesn’t provide much in exchange. In fact, there are other First Hawaiian cards that earn you rewards on your purchases while still not charging a fee. The only two benefits of this card are its introductory APRs on balance transfers and purchases. However, many competing banks offer 0% introductory interest rates, and some of them offer these promotions for over 12 months.

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