The supermarket has increases the 0% period on its purchases credit card. And you can earn Clubcard points on your spending too.
Tesco has increased the interest-free period on its Clubcard for Purchases credit card to a market-leading 18 months. This is great news if you want to make a big purchase but spread your payments over time without paying interest.
The Clubcard for Purchases credit card has the added attraction of Clubcard points on your spending. If you spend on the card at Tesco, including its petrol stations, you'll earn five points for every £4 you spend, providing you spend a minimum of £4. You'll also earn one point for every £4 you spend elsewhere.
So if you make a big purchase costing £1,000 using the card you’ll earn 250 points. And if you spend £250 over a month shopping at Tesco, you'll earn over 300 points a month.
Be aware that you must make the minimum repayment each month during the interest-free period or it could be withdrawn.
Once the 18 months is up, if you haven’t paid off your spending in full you’ll be charged interest. The representative APR (the annual combination of interest and fees) on this card is 16.9%.
Here’s how the new Tesco card compares to the other 0% purchase cards out there at the moment.
|
Credit card |
0% period |
Representative APR when 0% period ends |
|
18 months |
16.9% |
|
|
Halifax Purchase MasterCard |
17 months |
16.9% |
|
16 months |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months |
16.9% | |
|
15 months |
16.9% | |
|
15 months |
16.9% | |
|
15 months |
17.9% |
|
|
14 months |
18.9% |
The Tesco card, like most of the cards above, is available to people with a good credit history and you must have a minimum income of £5,000 a year to be eligible.
Improve your chances of getting a 0% card
The best way to get a 0% card is to ensure your credit rating is as spotless as possible.
[SPOTLIGHT]There are a number of simple things you can do that help, such as ensuring you pay any credit cards, loans, mobile phone bills, etc. that you have on time each month. You should also make sure you're on the electoral roll. There are more tips in How to build an excellent credit history.
And remember that you can check out your credit record with a free 30-day trial of Experian's CreditExpert, via Lovemoney.