First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Credit Card

First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Credit Card Review

The Visa® Classic Card from First Horizon Bank is a basic credit card that doesn’t offer any type of rewards. This is an ideal credit card for people who just want to have a way to build up their credit and don’t need the added restrictions of a secured card.

Cardholders have access to Visa’s international purchase power. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find a retailer that doesn’t accept Visa (if they accept credit cards, that is).

New cardholders also receive a very special perk: 0% interest for 12 months. This offer applies to purchases and balance transfers and can be a great feature to take advantage of if you have large purchases to make or a balance to pay off. Keep reading to find out whether this classic Visa card is going to be a good fit for your financial needs.

Save Money with No Annual Fee

One of the great features of the First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Card is that you don’t have to pay a fee to use this card. You may think that this should be a given, especially when you look at the credit card offerings from this bank.

However, many banks do charge an annual fee for the privilege of having a credit card. While it might make sense to pay for getting access to a whole bunch of rewards and perks, it might not be the right move for you if you are looking for a basic credit card.

That’s one of the appeals of the Visa® Classic Card. If you use your card responsibly and pay off your credit card bill on time, you won’t have to pay for anything you don’t need.

0% APR on Purchases

Perhaps the most appealing feature of the First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Card is that it offers new cardholders the opportunity to save on interest after signing up for this card. For your first 12 months, you can benefit from 0% interest on any qualifying purchases you make.

This is a great deal for people who need to make a large purchase (or a collection of smaller purchases) right away. For example, if you just moved to a new home and need to furnish it, you can use this card to buy what you need right after signing up.

You can then pay it off without incurring additional charges over the next 12 months. Remember, though, that the 12-month period starts from the date that you get approved from this card and not the date that you make the purchase.

As such, it’s best to identity what you need to purchase before you apply for this card so that you can maximize the time you have to pay off your balance with no interest. If you let any balance carry over after the 12-month introductory period, it will automatically accrue interest.

Depending on the APR First Horizon approves you for, however, this may not be so bad. Nevertheless, it’s better to avoid the additional expenses.

0% APR on Balance Transfers

The First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Card also offers a zero-interest promotional period for 12 months on balance transfers. The bank bundles this feature together with the 0% APR on purchases. However, this particular benefit deserves a separate analysis.

There are many credit cards that offer a 12-month 0% APR period for balance transfers. However, most of them place a limit on the time you have to make that transfer. For example, you might have to transfer over a balance onto your new card within 90 days of opening your account to take advantage of such a feature.

That’s not the case with the Visa® Classic Card, though. You can transfer a balance whenever you want and still take advantage of zero interest until the 12 months are up.

Keep in mind, however, that this promotional period begins on the date that you get approved for this card. In other words, if you wait six months before you transfer a balance, you’ll only have six months to pay it off.

Additionally, you have to pay a small fee to transfer over any balance to this credit card, regardless of whether you do it during the promotional period. Don’t worry, though. The fee is still a fraction of what any bank (Including First Horizon) would charge you in interest.

How to Strategically Use the 0% APR Balance Transfer Feature

Despite all this, the First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Card’s balance transfer feature can help cardholders pay off small balances throughout their first year as they see fit. You just need to be strategic about it. Here’s an example:

Say you have a high-interest credit card with a $10,000 credit limit. You realize one day that your balance on that card is over the halfway mark by $1,200, making your total balance $6,200.

If you didn’t already know, creditors don’t really like it when cardholders’ unpaid balances get too high. Going above the halfway point can affect your credit score, which can hurt your chances of receiving credit limit raises or even applying to other cards.

You realized your balance is higher than you want it to be but have already had your First Horizon Classic Visa® for eight months. You may think it’s too late to transfer over your entire balance. After all, your monthly payments will come out to $1550 if you want to pay off that balance with no interest.

You also don’t have the cash to pay off the $1,200 on your other credit card all at once. What you could do with that $1,200 is transfer that amount (preferably a little bit more) to your new First Horizon card.

You’ll instantly get your other credit card balance back where you want it to be. At the same time, you’d only have to pay $300 a month to pay off that transfer with 0% interest.

Should You Apply for the First Horizon Bank Visa® Classic Credit Card?

The Visa® Classic Card from First Horizon Bank could be a great option for you if you’re just looking for a basic payment method. If you use this card wisely, it can help you boost your overall credit rating.

The 0% APR feature for balance transfers and purchases is the most attractive detail of this credit card, however. It can help you pay off large purchases over time and help resolve any existing credit card debt.

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