There's a battle to top the best buy tables and that means it's a great time to get hold of a 0% credit card.
Whether you want to pay off some debt or spread the cost of a new purchase, it's a great time to take advantage of the fierce competition on 0% credit cards.
You can enjoy up to two and a half years with no interest to pay on balance transfers and up to a year and a half with no interest to pay on purchases.
0% balance transfer cards with long interest-free periods
Let's start by looking at the cards with the longest 0% periods.
Barclaycard has consistently topped this table but there are several other providers right behind.
|
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% |
Compare cards with the longest 0% balance transfer period
0% cards with low balance transfer fees
However, if you're willing to go for a card with a shorter interest-free period, you can pay a much lower fee. Even so, you can still get up to 25 months with no interest to pay for a fee of just 1.5%, courtesy of the Barclaycard 25-Month Platinum Balance Transfer.
Here are the cards with the lowest balance transfer fees in order.
|
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% |
|
|
17 months |
0.9% |
18.9% |
|
|
25 months |
1.5% |
18.9% |
|
|
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% |
Compare 0% balance transfer cards with low fees
Current longest 0% purchase credit cards
Here are the longest 0% periods on offer today for purchases. Both Santander and Tesco offer cards with introductory periods of 18 months with no interest to pay on purchases made within the first 90 days.
|
Credit card |
0% period |
Representative APR |
|
18 months |
18.9% | |
|
18 months |
18.9% | |
|
Halifax Purchase Credit Card |
17 months |
16.9% |
|
15 months |
17.9% | |
|
15 months |
16.9% | |
|
15 months |
16.9% | |
|
Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum Balance Transfer and Purchase |
15 months |
16.9% |
|
15 months |
17.9% | |
|
15 months |
16.9% | |
|
15 months |
15.9% |
*Only available to Nationwide current account holders
Compare 0% purchase credit cards
Things to remember
[SPOTLIGHT]If you get hold of a 0% deal, you must make at least the minimum repayment each month, or your 0% offer could be withdrawn and you'll get a black mark on your credit report. Set up a direct debit to make sure that doesn't happen to you.
Ideally, you will have paid off your balance in full by the time the 0% period comes to an end.
Credit ratings
Sadly, some people won't be able to get any of the cards we've highlighted in this article. That's because the credit card companies are only willing to give these cards to people with good credit ratings.
If you can't get a 0% card but you're paying a high interest rate, you could look at switching your debt to a card with a lower one while you improve your credit rating.
And you should also have a read of How to repair your credit rating to see what you can do to improve your credit score for the future.