Credit cards give more time to pay for Black Friday purchases. Up to how many months to differ and what articles?

The Black Friday It not only puts stores that bet on discounts of up to 60% in prices in open competition, but also credit cards that offer extended payment plans beyond what is customary: not only two months of grace but up to six months, In other words, start paying for purchases for today and for all of November only in May or June 2022.

The terms depend on the amount of the purchase and the type of item, for example for appliances and furniture, more time is given to pay, 10, 12, 15 or 18 months without interest. And the grace months depend on the credit card. You have to know how to use these facilities. It is not additional money. It is a debt.

In a pandemic, consumer habits changed and the use of cards was lower. “As of March 2021, the total balance of credit card consumption was $ 7,400 million, which meant an annual decrease of 0.6%.” The number of cards dropped to 3.4 million when in March 2020 it was 3.5 million. In that same period, consumptions with these cards billed $ 1,053 million: 45% ($ 474 million) were deferred consumption, followed by rotating consumption 42.5% ($ 448 million) and current consumption 12.4% ($ 131 million ), reports the Association of Private Banks of Ecuador (Asobanca).

“If we make a comparison with December 2020, although we do not have figures, we have this qualitative part of full shopping centers, of meetings that are already being held in families and companies and that gives the certainty that this season they will increase consumption ”, comments Karina Díaz Coba, administrator of the Crisfe Foundation financial education project. Hence the importance of planning these consumptions.

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First, What are the different payment plans for this Christmas and discount season?

Bankard promotes “buy in Juguetón and pay everything since June” and “in RioStore buy now and pay in May.” This Banco Bolivariano card also has the plan to start paying from May and for ten months without interest for purchases until the 30th of this month in stores such as Comandato, Credits Economicos, La Ganga, Tía.com.ec and Marriot. Another plan is to defer to fifteen months without interest in other 31 establishments such as Pycca, Marcimex, BuenHogar, TVentas, Orve Hogar, Japan, and furniture stores such as El Bosque, Moder Mueble, Villegas Hermanos.

Diners and Banco del Pichincha cards finance twelve months without interest plus three months of grace in Artefacta web purchases, and in its campaign Black Season the payment facilities of twelve months without interest plus two months of grace (or 24 months with interest) on purchases of technology, appliances, furniture and household items, travel and purchases abroad made between November 15 and 30, also promotes raffle of miles and cashback among the participants.

Pacificard has the campaign Blue Days with financing for twelve months without interest plus two months of grace. At Sony, the term increases to 18 months, also without interest and with those months of grace. Banco del Pacífico also has an alliance with shopping centers and purchases with this card receive a double opportunity to participate in the Christmas raffles at Mall del Sol and San Marino.

The cards of the Guayaquil Bank, both credit and debit, between November 11, 2021 and December 31, 2021 will have their own drawing for a Ford Bronco. Every $ 200 spent is equal to one chance in the drawing. This institution has financing plans that include twelve months without interest with a three-month grace period.

Deferring purchases is one of the recommendations given by the international Bank. “It is an excellent alternative to not affect your monthly flow and keep track of your finances”, refers the entity in a guide sent to this newspaper on advice for responsible consumption on special dates. In the case of your cards, it indicates that they allow you to defer consumption for up to 36 months using the Telephone Service channel.

But What must be taken into account to choose in how many installments?

On Black Friday and given the many offers in prices and starting to pay next year, “we must evaluate what we are going to buy. Yes we can take advantage of these offers and it can result in savings, as long as I have already planned them. If I have much better money, canceling with the money I saved would be ideal. If I am already buying on credit, I must evaluate what I am buying and the time it will take to pay it, ”says Díaz.

For example: if I buy an appliance that has a long useful life, a kitchen will last about three years, so it is worth differing. But if I buy clothes, they go out of style quickly, or food for dinner, that is not a good idea to buy them on credit, but with current consumption.

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His recommendation is that term purchases should not be for more than one year in electrical appliances or furniture, and technological products to six months, because with the advances they lag behind.

And on the grace months, project them in the 2022 budget. If you will pay $ 60 for a kitchen fee and another $ 80 for a dining room set, there are $ 140 a month of debt with which you will start 2022 -be it February, March, May, June- and that should be included in the household budget and to that add the fixed monthly expenses and the new needs that arise in the new year.

Errors when using the credit card:

1. Be tempted by the offers and consume without any prior planning. There are many offers, grace periods, and we feel excited and we are not thinking about future finances, but about consumption at the moment because of the facilities that I have.
2. Consume without calculating up to how much you can pay. Do not commit funds that must be paid the following year.
3. Not taking into account family finances. The income of many households has been reduced, they are not sure if the following year they will have the same income or less.

Tips and assurances

• Be wary of exaggerated offers and never enter through a link that arrives by messages or social networks, but rather enter from the browser to the company, that is to say, verify that you enter the establishment’s official page and that the URLs have the “https” security protocol or the padlock icon. Otherwise, there is a risk that personal and banking data may be intercepted by third parties.
• Previous research, if an appliance on sale is of a technology that will soon be renewed, or if the clothes are about to go out of style.
• Motivate national companies to buy to support the country’s economy and also to have better access in case of complaints.
• Do not use public Wi-Fi or from cybers to make purchases online, but with our own device and as soon as we finished making the transaction, close the page and not leave the card code so as not to be vulnerable to scams.
• You should always update the antivirus on technological devices where online purchases are made. These products have features such as antiphishing that analyze the security of web pages and identity protection. It is also advisable to protect yourself with programs antispyware, malware and adware. With this you can have greater security that purchases will be more protected.
• When filling out the forms to make the purchase online, control the data requested and give only what is necessary if you want to keep your privacy safe. Remember that financial institutions do not request personal information through messages, email, or phone calls.

∗ Recommendations from Fundación Crisfe and Banco Internacional.