If you fancy avoiding paying interest on your credit card for a year or more, check out these top deals....
As the end of the year gets closer, that can only mean one thing - Christmas is approaching! And for many of us, this is likely to involve doing some serious damage to our finances.
If you’re prone to splashing out on your loved ones during the festive season, you might be pondering whipping out the trusty plastic for your spending. And if you are, you need to ensure you’re using the right credit card for your needs.
If you’re a regular reader of lovemoney.com articles, you’re bound to be aware that we frequently bang on about interest-free credit cards. And really, you can’t blame us. After all, if you don’t have to pay interest, why should you?
Here, I’m going to highlight 16 of the longest interest-free credit cards on the market.
Get spending
Firstly, let’s take a look at the best interest-free credit cards for spending – in other words, 0% on new purchases credit cards.
|
Card |
0% purchases period |
0% balance transfer period |
Typical APR |
|
13 months |
9 months (2.9% fee) |
16.9% |
|
|
12 months |
12 months (3% fee) |
15.9% |
|
|
12 months |
12 months (2.9% fee) |
16.9% |
|
|
12 months |
12 months (2.98% fee) |
18.9% |
|
|
12 months |
12 months (2.98% fee) |
18.9% |
|
|
12 months |
9 months (3% fee) |
15.9% |
|
|
10 months |
10 months (3% fee) |
15.9% |
|
|
10 months |
10 months (3% fee) |
15.9% |
*Need to have current account with this lender.
As you can see, there’s plenty to choose from. So if you are about to hit the shops with your plastic in tow, make sure you use one of the above credit cards if you know there’s absolutely no way you’ll be able to pay off your bill in full each month.
The Tesco Clubcard Credit Card offers a market-leading 13 months interest-free on all your purchases. And that means you can spend away without worrying about the interest building up.
What’s more, if you regularly shop in Tesco, you can also build up Clubcard points with this credit card. The Tesco Clubcard Credit Card earns you one point for every £4 you spend on the card wherever you spend it and it also doubles as your Clubcard itself. So for every £4 you spend in Tesco, you get three Clubcard points.
Alternatively, if you’re more of a Sainsbury’s fan, the Sainsbury’s Finance MasterCard for Nectar Card Holders might be more up your street. This offers just one interest-free month less than the Tesco card, so you’ll still have a year to spend on the card without paying any interest. Bear in mind, you’ll need to have a Nectar card to qualify for this credit card.
Rachel Robson explains how negative order of payment works and how to avoid it.
What’s more, if you planning to carry out a balance transfer as well as spend on your credit card, you can also do this with the Sainsbury’s card as it offers 12 months interest-free on all balance transfers, meaning you’ll neatly side-step negative order of payment.
And if you are looking for a good all-round credit card for both purchases and balance transfers, but don’t fancy the Sainsbury’s card, the Barclaycard Platinum with Purchase Visa, Virgin Money Credit Card MasterCard and the Halifax All in One Credit Card are other good options to consider.
Just remember to pay off your debt in full before the interest-free period expires, otherwise you’ll be hit with a hefty interest rate.
Best for balance transfers
A 0% balance transfer credit card is a pretty handy piece of plastic to own if you’ve already done some serious spending on your credit card and that debt is now racking up a lot of interest. Providing you're not planning to spend on your balance transfer card, you can get even longer interest-free periods than the 12 months mentioned above.
Here are the best 0% balance transfer credit cards on the market.
|
Card |
0% balance transfer period |
0% purchases period |
Typical APR |
|
16 months (2.9% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
|
|
16 months (2.9% fee) |
3 months |
16.8% |
|
|
16 months (3% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months (3% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months (2.9% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months (2.98% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months (2.9% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months (2.9% fee) |
3 months |
16.9% |
*Need to have current account with this lender.
As you can see, the most competitive 0% balance transfer credit cards offer 16 months interest-free. The Barclaycard Platinum with 16 Month BT Visa, the MBNA Platinum 16 Month BT Visa and the Yorkshire/Clydesdale Bank Gold MasterCards all offer this.
If you’re applying for a balance transfer credit card, make sure you follow these top tips.
However, bear in mind that with the Yorkshire/Clydesdale Bank Gold MasterCards you can only apply online if you’re an existing customer. If you’re not, you’ll have to apply in branch – and if you live down south, branches are few and far between. What’s more, the balance transfer fee is slightly higher with these credit cards at 3% compared to 2.9%.
Once again, make sure you pay off your bill in full by the time the interest-free period has come to an end if you want to avoid being hit with interest.
If you don’t think you’ll be able to do this, transfer your balance over to another 0% balance transfer credit card or consider taking out a low-rate, lifetime balance transfer card instead. The MBNA Platinum Credit Card Visa, for example, offers 5.9% on all balance transfers, and comes with a 2% fee (providing you transfer your balance within 60 days). The Barclaycard Platinum Simplicity Visa offers a slightly higher interest rate of 6.8%, but there’s no balance transfer fee.
So what are you waiting for? Get a better credit card today!
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