The best balance transfer credit card just got better

Barclaycard has slashed the balance transfer fee on its market-leading 26-month 0% card.

Barclaycard has cut the balance transfer fee on its market-leading 26-Month Platinum Visa, from 3.5% to 3.1%.

So now you can get the longest lasting balance transfer credit card for less.

To put the change into context, transferring £5,000 worth of credit card debt will cost £155 instead of £175 - that’s a saving of £20.

But how does the change compare to other longer lasting deals?

Two-year deals

To see how the Barclaycard reduction stacks up, let’s take a look at what other balance transfer credit cards lasting two years or more are charging.

Credit Card	Balance transfer period	Balance transfer fee	APR	Fee on £2,000 transfer
Barclaycard 25-Month Platinum Visa	25 months	2.40%	18.90%	£48
Halifax BT 25-Month MasterCard	25 months	2.50%	18.90%	£50
Tesco Clubcard Credit Card for Balance Transfers	25 months	2.90%	16.90%	£58
Fluid 24-Month BT Visa	24 months	2.89%	16.90%	£58
NatWest Platinum MasterCard	24 months	2.90%	17.90%	£58
Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum MasterCard	24 months	2.90%	17.90%	£58
Barclaycard 26-Month Platinum Visa	26 months	3.10%	18.90%	£62

As you can see from the table the cheapest balance transfer on a card lasting two years or more is from the Barclaycard 25-Month Platinum Visa.

It offers one month less than the Barclaycard 26-Month Platinum Visa but is £14 cheaper to transfer a £2,000 debt.

So, as is often the case with balance transfer credit cards, you will need to weigh up whether the length of the balance transfer or the price is more important to you.

Sadly this is often more tricky than it sounds.

Balancing act

Balance transfer credit cards are great tools for freezing debt, but all of them come with a one-off fee for the privilege.

It can be hard to find a deal that's right because these two factors don't necessarily correlate.

The longest-lasting deal might not necessarily be the most expensive and vice versa.

For example the Nationwide Visa offers only 20 months interest free on balance transfers for a fee of 3.1% while the longest lasting deal from Barclaycard now costs the same!

So it’s important to check out the whole market to find one that could help you pay down existing credit card debt at a pace and price that suits you.

Less time

You don't have to go for the longest-lasting balance transfer credit card if you think you can pay off your debt in less time.

If you think you can pay down your debt five months sooner in 21 months you could go for the Lloyds TSB Platinum MasterCard which would only charge 1.5% or £30 on a £2,000 transfer.

The cheapest deals

If the fee is your number on concern rather than the length of a balance transfer there are plenty of balance transfer credit cards that charge less.

The Halifax All in One Credit Card for example is the cheapest around charging just 1% to freeze debt for 15 months and offers 15 months interest free on purchases as well.

Elsewhere the Royal Bank of Scotland Low BT Fee Credit Card and NatWest Platinum Low BT Fee Credit Card also only charge 1% on balance transfers but only offer 13 months free of interest.

A warning

Interest-free balance transfer credit cards are great tools to help you pay down existing credit card debt. But if you fail to clear it by the end of the introductory period you will start accruing interest again.

Remember that no matter how long a deal lasts you will need to pay it back eventually, so whichever credit card you go for you should devise a plan on how to repay what you transfer.