You’ve probably seen plenty of introductory offers as you compare credit cards. They’re designed to grab your attention with temporary benefits that make them more attractive than other options. These offers can vary from one-time bonuses to low fees and rates that can last for months (or even more than a year). But how long is long enough? Does it really matter if an introductory offer lasts three months or six?

Let’s take a look at some specific types of introductory offers you might find and then consider the lengths of those offers.

Types of Introductory Offers

• One-time offers for bonus rewards points
• Low balance transfer rates
• Low purchase interest rates
• No annual fees for your first year
• The ability to earn more rewards points per dollar spent for a limited time

How Long Should an Introductory Offer Be?

While only two out of those five examples involve ongoing introductory offers, they’re two of the most common you’ll find — low balance transfer rate offers and temporary low purchase rates. In fact, almost all balance transfer credit cards feature introductory rates.

Those rates can vary quite a bit. So what should you look for as a potential new cardholder? Really, you need to look beyond the introductory offer and consider the way you plan to use the card.

For example, let’s say you have a high interest credit card and you want a balance transfer to save money as you pay off that debt. How long of an introductory offer should you look for? That depends on how quickly you think you can pay off the debt. If you can pay it off in three months, you have more options available to you. If you need a year, your options become very limited as long-term offers are less common.

You might take a similar approach to purchase rate introductory offers like that of the Virgin Flyer credit card (currently offering 0% on purchases for up to six months). If you have no specific plans for the card, the offer length might not matter. But let’s say you plan to buy new appliances for your home. Again you would want to consider how long it will take you to pay off those purchases. If it will take longer than those six months, you might be better off with a different card (with a very low interest rate, but for a longer period of time).

Don’t forget to look at other credit card features. If a high annual fee will negate any benefits of a low introductory interest rate compared to other cards on the market, it’s not a good deal. In that case you would want to look for as long of an introductory period as possible to increase savings in relation to that higher fee. In the end, it comes down to comparing all potential offers carefully side by side to find out which will really give you the most savings or the most rewards.