Top 0% cards that help charities

These two cards now offer a decent 0% period and help charities to boot.

Charity credit cards work in much the same way as normal credit cards, but with the added bonus that by using them you are helping a charity.The trouble is, they are generally mediocre at best.

That's changing though, as MBNA has revamped two of its charity credit cards so that they are now competitive in their own right. So if you’re a supporter of the British Heart Foundation or the WWF, these may just be for you. But be warned, they won't be quite so compelling for long...

British Heart Foundation Credit Card

With the British Heart Foundation Credit Card, the 0% balance transfer period has been bumped up from 24 months to 31 months, putting it alongside some of the longest 0% deals on the market. It has also had its balance transfer fee snipped to 2.88%.

It's certainly not market leading - you can get 34 months from the Barclaycard Platinum, while there are a number of cards offering 32 months or more of 0% interest. However, the British Heart Foundation card is strong enough to make the top ten, as you can see in The best 0% balance transfer credit cards.

Dissapointingly the charity donation upon the first use of the card has decreased from £50 to a pitiful £7.50. To minimise the blow, there will be an additional £10 if the balance transfer is made within the first 90 days of account opening.

WWF Credit Card

The WWF card has also had its 0% balance transfer period increased to 31 months with a 2.88% balance transfer fee. But it’s gone in the opposite direction donations-wise. The sum has jumped almost seven times from £6 to £40 for opening an account. There’ll also be a £10 donation made if the balance is transferred within the first 90 days of account opening.

How they compare

Offers on charity credit cards vary pretty wildly across the market, but we’ve hand-picked some of the best deals right now.

Card(s)	Card provider	Balance Transfers	Purchases	Representative APR	Donations
British Heart Foundation Card Visa	MBNA	0% for 31 months 2.88% fee	0% for 3 months	18.9%	£7.50 when you first use your card £10 if balance is transferred within first 90 days of account opening 35p for every £100 spent on card purchases
WWF Card Visa	MBNA	0% for 31 months 2.88% fee	0% for 3 months	18.9%	£40 for opening account £10 if balance transferred within first 90 days of account opening 40p for every £100 spent on the card £2 for every year the card is active
Breakthrough Breast Cancer Credit Card	MBNA	0% for 24 months 2.99% fee	0% for 3 months	18.9%	£5 for using card within 90 days of account opening 25p for every £100 spent on card purchases £2 for every year the card is active
RSPCA Credit Card	MBNA	0% for 24 months 2.99% fee	0% for 6 months	18.9%	£20 when card is used within 90 days of account opening 25p for every £100 spent on card purchases
The National Trust Credit Card	MBNA	0% for 24 months 2.99% fee	0% for 3 months	18.9%	£15 when card is used within 90 days of account opening 30p for every £100 you spend on card purchases £2 for every year the card is active
Born Free Credit Card/Cats Protection Credit Card/Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity Credit Card	MBNA	0% for 12 months 3% fee	0% for 3 months	16.9%	£20 when you use your card within 90 days of account opening 25p for every £100 you spend on card purchases £2 for each year the account remains open and active
Dogs Trust Credit Card	MBNA	0% for 12 months 3% fee	0% for 3 months	16.9%	£4 when card is used within 90 days of account opening 25p for every £100 spent on card purchases £2 for every year the card is active
Save the Children Standard Credit Card	Co-operative Bank	0% for 6 months 3% or £5 fee, whichever is greater	0% for 6 months	18.9%	£15 upon opening account £2.50 if account is used within six months 25p for every £100 you spend on the card
RSPB Fixed Standard Credit Card	Co-operative Bank	0% for 6 months 3% or £5 fee, whichever is greater	0% for 6 months	18.9%	£18 upon opening account £2.50 for using the card within 6 months of opening Transfer to the card for a further 25p
Oxfam Flat Rate Credit Card	Co-operative Bank	N/A	N/A	12.9%	£15 upon account opening £2.50 if card is used within six months 25p for every £100 spent on the card

A better way to donate?

A charity credit card seems like an easy way to give money to charity on a regular basis. However, the amount that the bank actually donates is meagre - often 0.25%. That’s just 25p of every £100 spent.

To donate much more, one route to go down is a cashback credit card. The returns are a lot higher and often paid yearly. This means that you can give a generous lump sum to your favourite charity or spread the donation across different organisations.

For example, if you spent £125 a month on the American Express Platinum Cashback credit card, which pays 5% cashback for the first three months and 1.25% thereafter, you’d get £24.37 in cashback.

What’s more, if you take your cashback from your cashback card and apply Gift Aid to your donation, another 25% gets added on. That means your donation comes to £30.46, compared to £22.75 with the British Heart Foundation credit card.

Check out the best cashback credit cards for some brilliant deals.

With a cashback card it’s important that you only take it out if you are confident that you can meet the monthly repayments in full. If you can’t, any interest payments will outweigh your charitable giving.

Compare cashback credit cards with lovemoney.com

More on credit cards:

American Express drops fee on Nectar credit card for a year

NatWest and RBS launch new cashback plus credit card

Barclaycard launches cashback offer on top 0% balance transfer cards

Tesco increases 0% period on fee-free balance transfer card