Pay 0% on new credit card for 18 months

One new card offers an incredible 18 months of 0% interest.

If you have debt built up on your credit card, then a balance transfer card can be a very useful tool for eradicating it. By moving over that debt to a balance transfer card, you’ll be able to enjoy many months of 0% interest on that debt, allowing you to pay it off in palatable stages, rather than racking up interest on your existing purchases card.

And for those looking to snap up a new balance transfer card, the time to act may be now – one card now offers the longest period of 0% interest ever!

Well done Barclaycard

Barclaycard’s Platinum credit card was already a best buy, offering 17 months of 0% on balance transfers. However, yesterday the firm moved ahead of the pack by improving its offer to a frankly incredible 18 months.

That’s a year and a half, completely free of interest, in which to pay off your debt. Even those borrowers with credit card debt of a sufficient size that it is starting to give them sleepless nights must fancy their chances of at the very least making a sizeable dent into that debt. Aftel all, they will have 18 months with which to make payments that go completely towards the debt, rather than also covering interest.

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Of course, if you do transfer over a balance, you will have to pay a fee – 2.9% of the sum being transferred with the Barclaycard. And while that is a little higher than some of its main competitors, it’s shouldn't make a significant difference unless you are transferring a vast sum. What’s more, if you transfer over £3,000 or more, £20 will be knocked off the fee!

Increasing competition

It’s not just Barclaycard that have revamped their balance transfer offering this week though – Nationwide has also improved the 0% period on offer with its credit card, upping it to 17 months.

While this is obviously not as good an offer as the Barclaycard deal (with a slightly higher transfer fee of 2.95% as well), it’s good news for borrowers all the same, particularly if you already have debt on a Barclaycard as you generally cannot move debt between two cards from the same provider.

Here are the current best balance transfer cards in the market.

*Only available to existing current account holders

Compare credit cards at lovemoney.com

Getting the transfer right

Of course, there is more to the perfect balance transfer than simply snapping up a card. For a great rundown of what you need to remember, be sure to have a read of Five top tips for a successful balance transfer.

New 0% on purchases card too!

What if you don't have existing debt on your card but simply want to spend interest-free?

The good news is, there is a new market leader in the 0% of purchase market too. Marks & Spencer has announced that it is to increase the interest-free period on its card to a whopping 15 months, a whole two months clear of its nearest competitor. What’s more, you’ll earn M&S points with your spending, no matter where you do it, allowing you to save money on future purchases at Marks & Spencer.

And if you buy travel money from Marks & Spencer using the card, there will be no cash advance fee and 55-days interest free credit.

If you have a big expenditure coming up, perhaps a wedding or a new baby, and you know that you are going to need to spread the payments, then you might like to consider one of the cards below.

*Only available to existing current account holders

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