Take advantage of the 0% credit card price war

Providers ramp up 0% periods and slash fees on balance transfer offers.

There’s never been a better time to get a 0% balance transfer credit card as a number of providers have ramped up their offers in the last few weeks.

A 0% balance transfer credit card allows you to freeze the size of any credit card debt you shift onto it for a number of months, usually for a one-off fee.

Credit card providers traditionally upgrade their offers around Christmas and the New Year to attract those who may have overindulged over the festive period or who have resolved to tackle their debts.

So if you’re on the hunt for a deal here’s a roundup of what’s changed and how the best buy tables have been impacted.

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Boosted 0% periods

Barclaycard set a new benchmark just before Christmas by launching the longest 0% balance transfer deal ever.

It bumped up its 34-Month Platinum Visa card to a 35-month deal with a lower 2.49% transfer fee, giving cardholders just shy of three years to freeze their debt. Barclaycard also improved its 33-Month Platinum Visa to a 34-month deal, with a lower 2.39% fee.

Hot on the heels of this change Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank bumped up the 0% period on their top deals from 33 months to 34 months. Halifax has kept its fee for transfers at 2.8% while Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland have hiked the cost from 2.85% to 3%.

HSBC also made a competitive change to its 34-month 0% balance transfer credit card, which comes with a 3.3% fee. Previously the deal was reserved for current account customers, but now it is open to all.

Here’s how the best buy table for the longest 0% balance transfer deal now looks:

Credit card	0% period on balance transfers	Balance transfer fee	Cost of transferring £2,000 balance	Representative APR after 0% period ends
Barclaycard 35-Month Platinum Visa	35 months	2.49%	£49.80	18.9%
Barclaycard 34-Month Platinum Visa	34 months	2.39%	£47.80	18.9%
Halifax 34-Month Balance Transfer MasterCard	34 months	2.80%	£56	18.9%
Lloyds Bank Platinum 34-Month Balance Transfer MasterCard	34 months	3%	£60	18.9%
Bank of Scotland Platinum 34-Month Balance Transfer MasterCard	34 months	3%	£60	18.9%
HSBC Credit Card	34 months	3.3%	£66	18.9%
MBNA Platinum	33 months	2.79%	£55.80	18.9%
Sainsbury's Bank Nectar Balance Transfer MasterCard	33 months	2.89%	£57.80	18.9%
Tesco Clubcard Balance Transfer MasterCard	33 months	2.9%	£58	18.9%

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Balance transfer fee reductions

Credit card providers have also been competing on the size of the balance transfer fee on 0% deals.

Santander launched a 23-month 0% balance transfer offer with no fee to pay on its 123 Credit Card in December. The card also offers 0% on purchases for 23 months and up to 3% cashback on certain spends, but attracts a £24 annual fee unless you have a Santander 123 current account. As an alternative Santander also brought out a 15-month 0% balance transfer deal with no transfer fee and no annual card fee.

Halifax has launched a new 13-month 0% purchase and 13-month 0% balance transfer card which doesn’t charge a fee if you make a transfer within the first 90 days of opening an account. Halifax has also reduced the fee to 1% on its All in One Credit Card for transfers made within 90 days (3% thereafter). The card offers 19 months 0% on balance transfers as well as 16 months 0% on purchases.

Meanwhile the Post Office has reduced the charge on its 18-Month Platinum MasterCard, taking the balance transfer fee down from 2.98% to 0.79% via a refund.

Elsewhere Nationwide has cut the fee on its Select Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card (available to current account holders) from 0.55% to 0.25% and has reduced the fee on its Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card (open to all) from 0.65% to 0.35%.

Here’s what the best free and low-fee 0% balance transfer deals look like now.

Credit card	0% period on balance transfers	Balance transfer fee	Fee paid on £2,000 transfer	Representative APR after 0% period ends
Santander 123 Credit Card*	23 months	None	£0	16.5%
Santander Credit Card	15 months	None	£0	18.9%
Halifax 0% Balance Transfer Fee Offer MasterCard	13 months	None	£0	18.9%
Tesco Clubcard with No Balance Transfer Fee	12 months	None	£0	18.9%
Nationwide Select Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card**	15 months	0.25%	£5	15.9%
Nationwide Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card	15 months	0.35%	£7	17.9%
Post Office Platinum Credit Card	18 months	0.79%	£15.80	17.8%
Halifax All in One Credit Card	19 months	1%	£20	18.9%
Barclaycard Platinum 24-Month Balance Transfer Credit Card	24 months	1.25%	£25	18.9%

*£24 annual fee

**Nationwide current account customers only

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