First Class Credit Cards

With hordes of credit cards on offer finding the right one can be tricky. Here's a selection of the best.

When it comes to choosing a credit card, in a perfect world, you'll want to go for the one which keeps your interest bill to the absolute minimum or better still at zero.

But different credit cards have different strengths and the way in which you want to use it should influence your decision. So to save you some time I've dug out the best card in each category to help you find the most fantastic plastic!

Best Balance Transfer Credit Card

Balance transfers are big business these days which means many credit card companies now charge for the privilege. That said, I still think it's an excellent move which puts your interest bill temporarily on hold while you get to grips with your debt.

For balance transfers I don't think you can go far wrong with the Virgin Money Credit Card. The interest-free period lasts for a full 15 months which is the longest on the market. What's more, you'll benefit from loads of Virgin discounts including money off holidays, wine, music, DVDs and car insurance.

Key Features:

• 0% p.a. for 15 months on balance transfers
• 2.98% transfer fee
• 0% p.a. for 3 months on purchases
• Typical 15.9% APR

Best New Purchases Credit Card

If you don't have a balance to transfer you may be more interested in making interest-free purchases on your new card. For this I think Halifax One 12 Month Offer MasterCard is a good choice, offering an interest-free period on your spending for a whole year. Although it's not the only card to do that, it has the most competitive APR once the 0% period has come to an end.

Key Features:

• 0% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers
• 3% transfer fee
• 0% p.a. for 12 months on purchases
• Typical 15.9% APR

Best Balance Transfer & Purchases Credit Card

If you need a card for combining balance transfers and new spending, then you really should choose one which applies the same interest-free period to both. Again the Halifax One 12 Month Offer MasterCard  offers the most generous year-long deal. Even better, that will allow you to neatly sidestep `negative payment hierarchy'.

Let me explain: the vast majority of credit cards operate under a system where you actually pay off the cheapest debt first. This means the more expensive debts stay on your card longer, costing you more interest while earning mega profits for the credit card company. So it follows if the interest-free period is the same on the transfer and your subsequent spending, then you don't need to worry about paying more interest than you should.

Best Cashback Credit Card

If you want to make a little extra as you spend then a cashback credit card is the choice for you. I like the Capital One CashBack Card which has a special introductory offer of 4% cashback on all purchases for the first three months. Plus, you'll continue to earn 1% cashback on further spending after the 3 months is up.

There are other credit cards out there which offer higher cashback rates - such as the American Express Platinum MoneyBack Credit Card and the Abbey Credit Card - but these deals are more restrictive and only apply to a limited proportion of your spend.

But just one word of warning: anecdotal evidence suggests Capital One are only likely to accept those with excellent credit ratings, so bear that in mind if yours is a little below par.

Key Features:

• 4% cashback on purchases for 3 months
• 1% cashback thereafter
• Typical 15.9% APR

Best Lifetime Balance Transfers Credit Card

Perhaps you don't like the idea of transferring your balance every year or so to chase the best offers. In that case, you could consider a lifetime balance transfer credit card instead. This means the interest rate on your transfer will remain fixed at a pretty low level until it's completely paid off.

For this I like the Citi Platinum Life of Balance MasterCard which charges 5.8% APR. Alternatively you could go for the Citi Platinum with iTunes Rewards MasterCard which charges the lowest rate of 4.9% on transfers. Better still, you'll earn iTunes music points which can then be used for iTunes music downloads or to save for an iPod nano.

Key Features:

• 5.8% p.a.(4.9% for iTunes card) fixed for the life of the balance transfer
• 3% transfer fee
• 0% p.a. for 12 months on purchases
• Typical 16.9% (17.9% for iTunes card) APR

Best Credit Card Abroad

The Nationwide Gold Visa Card is a great travelling companion because it doesn't charge any extra fees for use abroad anywhere in the world. It's not the only credit card to do that but it's one of the very, very few cards which operate `positive payment hierarchy' so it deserves a special mention! As you would expect this is exactly the opposite of negative payment hierarchy and allows your most expensive debts to be repaid first, keeping your interest bill down to a minimum.

Key Features:

• 0% p.a. for 10 months on balance transfers
• 2.5% transfer fee
• 0% p.a. for 3 months on purchases
• Typical 15.9% APR

Don't forget, whatever you need a credit card for there's usually one which does the job just a little better than the rest. So make sure your shiny new card really does outshine!

More: Just Eight Balance Transfer Balance Cards Left | When Balance Transfers Go Bad.