The balance transfer market heats up again with another provider upping its 0% period.
Virgin Money has extended the 0% period on balance transfers with its MasterCard card to 26 months, from 20 months.
The card has a transfer fee of 2.99%. And after the 0% interest period finishes you'll face an APR of 18.9%.
Providers in the balance transfer market are currently caught up in a fierce battle to improve their products and ramp up customer numbers.
This offer from Virgin is competitive but there are a few better deals on the market.
The deal
Virgin Money’s credit card not only offers more than two years of 0% interest on balance transfers, but also has six months 0% interest on new purchases.
When moving over a debt to the card you’ll be charged a fee of 2.99%, which works out at £59.80 for a balance of £2,000.
It’s a good deal and sits in third place when looking at the best buy tables. Barclaycard is firmly at the top with the longest ever deal of 27-months and a 3.5% fee. It’s followed by cards from NatWest and RBS which also have a 26-month period but a lower fee of 2.65%.
Our comparison charts show the full market but here I’ve picked out the five cheapest deals for long balance transfer deals.
|
Card |
0% period |
Balance transfer fee |
Fee paid on £2,000 transfer |
Representative APR after 0% period ends |
|
27 months |
3.5% |
£70 |
18.9% |
|
|
26 months |
2.65% |
£53 |
18.9% |
|
|
26 months |
2.65% |
£53 |
18.9% |
|
|
26 months |
2.99% |
£59.80 |
17.9% |
|
|
25 months |
2.4% |
£48 |
18.9% |
If you’d prefer to pay less for moving over a balance, there are cards for this, but the 0% period will also be shorter. The Halifax All in One Card, for example, has a much lower fee of 1% but the 0% period is only 15 months.
You can find out more in our article - The best 0% balance transfer credit cards.
Balance transfer warning
When picking a new card be careful not to get caught up in the headline rate and read the small print. You’ll need to get a card that is right for you – so if you’re making expensive interest payments a balance transfer card would work.
But, these cards only work if you pay the balance off during the 0% period. There are also strict rules on repaying the loan so you need to aim to clear the debt by the end of the balance transfer period.
Missing payments is a quick way to get the 0% period shortened, the interest rate increased or even receive a fine or get a black mark on your credit score.
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