Halifax has extended the 0% periods for all its all-round credit card. If you only want to carry one card in your wallet, this is the one to go for.
We often write about the attractions of 0% credit cards at lovemoney.com. So you’re probably well aware that balance transfer credit cards can be very useful debt management tools while 0% on purchases cards allow you to take out an interest-free loan for a year or longer.
So if you want to transfer a credit card debt to a 0% card, and you also fancy borrowing to fund some Christmas spending, you might decide to take out two 0% cards. One for the balance transfer and one for your Christmas spending.
Taking out two cards is a sensible strategy, but for some of us, it’s a bit too much hassle – especially if you have more than one credit card already.
All in one card
If you want to take the simple approach, there’s a lot to be said for all-round credit cards that allow you to do a balance transfer as well as some interest-free shopping. And we now have a new market-leader in this sector – the Halifax All in One Credit Card which offers 15-month 0% periods for balance transfers and purchases.
If you took out one of these beauties, you could go out and buy a fancy new TV and you wouldn’t have to pay any interest on the resulting debt for 15 months. (Please note that the 15-month period begins when you take out the card not when you purchase the TV.)
What’s more, if you had a £2,000 debt on another credit card, you could transfer that debt to your new Halifax card and you wouldn’t have to pay any interest for 15 months. You would, however, have to pay a 3% balance transfer fee.
Pretty attractive, huh?
Of course, it’s possible that you won’t be able to get this deal because your existing debt is already on a Halifax credit card. If that’s the case, take a look at the other top all-round credit cards:
Top all-round credit cards
|
Credit card |
0% balance transfer period |
0% purchases |
‘Revert-to’ Representative APR |
|
15 months (3% fee) |
15 months |
17.9% |
|
|
14 months (2.9% fee) |
14 months |
18.9% |
|
|
13 months (2.89% fee) |
13 months |
18.9% |
|
|
12 months (3% fee) |
12 months |
16.9% |
Be careful
I should stress at this point that it would be foolish to dash out and spend freely with your new card. Even if you’re being charged 0% interest on your debt, you still will have to pay off the debt eventually. 0% cards are great tools but they must be used prudently.
What’s more, don’t assume that you’re definitely going to get one of these cards if you apply. The credit card companies only want to give 0% on purchases cards to people with good credit ratings.
It’s also the case that lots of people won’t need an all-round card. If you’re just focusing on paying down your credit card debt, you should go for the best 0% balance transfer card. It doesn’t matter what the offer is for new purchases.
The current market-leading balance transfer card is the Barclaycard 22 month Platinum Visa card. You could transfer your existing debt over to this card and not pay any interest for 22 months. Your only cost will be the 2.9% fee when you make the transfer.
If you don’t have any existing credit card debt and you just want to make some interest-free purchases, you have a choice of three cards to go for. Check out this table:
Top 0% on purchases cards
|
Credit card |
0% purchase period |
Representative APR |
|
15 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months |
15.9% |
|
|
15 months |
17.9% |
The really interesting point to note is that the Halifax All in One card shows up in this table too as one of the best 0% on purchases cards. That’s why you have to say that the Halifax All in One credit card is a pretty impressive product. It’s easily the best all-round card on the market today.
More: Euro crisis could make loans more expensive | Avoid fraud shopping online today