Barclaycard extends its top 0% deal to a whopping 30 months.
You can now avoid paying interest on your credit card debt for a whopping 30 months, after Barclaycard revamped its credit card range.
The 30-Month Visa offers a two-and-a-half-year 0% period, with a balance transfer fee of 2.89%. However you will have to pay a fee of 3.5% at first, with the difference then refunded to you. It also boasts a six-month 0% period on purchases, with a representative APR of 18.9%.
It’s not the only top new card out there though. If you can pay your debt off one month quicker there’s the Barclaycard 29-Month Balance Transfer Visa, with a lower fee of 2.49%, though again you’ll have to pay a fee of 3.5% at first before being refunded the difference. It too has a six-month 0% period on purchases and a representative APR of 18.9%.
The changes from Barclaycard follow moves from MBNA, Tesco and Santander to extend the 0% balance transfer deals on their cards to 29 months. For years now Barclaycard has fiercely protected its spot at the top of the 0% balance transfer tree, so it should come as no surprise that it has improved its offers in the face of added competition.
It first launched a card with a 30-month 0% period last October, before quietly cutting it back to 29 months in late November. That version had a fee of 2.9%, so this new 30-month card has a smaller fee, albeit by just 0.01%.
Let’s take a look at the lengthiest 0% balance transfer periods now on offer.
|
Credit card |
0% period on balance transfers |
Balance transfer fee |
Representative APR |
|
30 months |
2.89% |
18.9% |
|
|
29 months |
2.49% |
18.9% |
|
|
29 months |
2.89% |
18.9% |
|
|
29 months |
2.9% |
18.9% |
|
|
29 months |
3% |
18.9% |
|
|
28 months |
2.45% |
18.9% |
|
|
28 months |
2.99% |
18.9% |
|
|
28 months |
2.99% |
18.9% |
I don’t need 30 months!
Now, you may have some credit card debt that you want to clear but you don’t need two and a half years in order to do so. In this situation, you may be better off going for a card that offers a shorter 0% period, but also charges a much smaller balance transfer fee.
This is another area of the market that’s seen quite a few changes of late. Barclaycard has introduced a 12-month 0% card with a fee of 0.79%, while Santander has now introduced a card with a fee of 0.9% and a 0% period of a whopping 17 months!
Let’s take a look at how the different low fee cards shape up.
|
Credit card |
0% period on balance transfers |
Balance transfer fee |
Representative APR |
|
12 months |
0.75% |
18.9% |
|
|
12 months |
0.79% |
18.9% |
|
|
15 months |
0.8% |
17.9% |
|
|
TSB Platinum MasterCard |
15 months |
0.8% |
17.9% |
|
15 months |
0.8% |
17.9% |
|
|
12 months |
0.85% |
18.9% |
|
|
17 months |
0.9% |
18.9% |
|
|
15 months |
0.9% |
16.9% |
|
|
15 months |
0.9% |
16.9% |
|
|
13 months |
1% |
17.9% |
|
|
TSB Platinum 24 Months Balance Transfer Card |
24 months |
1.5% |
17.9% |
|
24 months |
1.5% |
17.9% |
|
|
24 months |
1.5% |
17.9% |
That’s a huge number of cards of choose from if you don’t need to go for a balance transfer card with a really lengthy 0% period.
Making the most of a balance transfer credit card
If you have a big chunk of debt on your credit card, it can be tough to get that balance cleared, as a portion of the money you repay each month will go towards interest charges rather than reducing the debt itself.
[SPOTLIGHT]That’s the big plus point of a 0% balance transfer credit card; in exchange for a relatively small fee, you can guarantee that for a certain period of time there will be no interest charges, meaning all of your repayments go directly towards reducing your balance.
That said, there are some important things to bear in mind in order to make the most of your card. Firstly, make sure you make your minimum payment on time each month. Otherwise the lender has every right to scrap the 0% offer altogether. Secondly, try to ensure you clear the debt before you come to the end of the 0% period.
Otherwise you will be left either paying interest on your remaining debt, or looking around for a new 0% card to move the debt to. And while balance transfer cards are plentiful right now, there’s no guarantee they will be in the future.
Compare 0% balance transfer credit cards