Five monthly payments, no catch

Amazon has introduced a new program that makes it a little easier to buy gaming PCs and PC components. While the price is technically the same, the burden is spread out across several months at no penalty to the buyer.

Amazon now has a monthly payment system for big ticket items that shifts payments across five months instead of all at once. For instance, there's now the option to purchase a $2,000 PC with five monthly payments of $400 rather than forking over two grand at the time of sale. The applicable categories for this new program are: Laptops, Desktops, Tablets, Monitors, Computer components, Drives and storage, Memory, Networking, and Computer and tablet accessories.

The distinguishing aspect of this financing system is that it comes at zero percent interest. There's no penalty for spreading payments out over five months. Amazon states that there are "no finance charges, no interest or hidden fees, and no credit check or application required."

The obvious upside to this is that buying an expensive PC or PC parts is less intimidating for anyone who can make the monthly payments. That's an immediate advantage over other retailers who will require all the money up front, thus causing the the buyer to purchase it on credit which could eventually lead to paying some interest.

The downside is that Amazon's program isn't flexible. It's five fixed payments and that's it. Amazon will presumably charge the attached debit or credit card each month and then it's on you to have the money. If it results in overdrawing your bank account, that's your problem.

However, this seems like a great new program for responsible consumers who don't want the stress of immediately paying off an expensive commodity like a gaming PC. For those people, legitimate zero percent financing appears to be a fantastic alternate route to getting into PC gaming.

[Update: It seems that the source link doesn't populate for everyone, as this is apparently a conditional option that only applies to some accounts. As some users have pointed out, some criteria are: You're US-based, you have an account that's more than a year old, you have a credit card linked to your account, and you have a good payment history. Further, not everything qualifies for the program; only certain products are applicable.

Here are some screen captures of Amazon's materials for this program. Apologies for the confusion.]

Monthly payments: Get it now, pay over time [Amazon]

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