Barclaycard is offering to shift debt free of charge, but only for a limited period.
Barclaycard is now offering fee-free 0% balance transfers on its Low Fee Barclaycard Platinum Visa.
The card, which comes with six months interest-free on balance transfers, normally attracts a 1% fee.
But until 27th July Barclaycard is offering to waive this up-front cost and let you shift your debt completely free of charge.
Free balance transfer credit cards
A 0% balance transfer credit card can help you take control of spiralling credit card debt.
The card offers you the chance to move existing balances to a 0% deal, meaning every penny you repay goes directly towards clearing that debt.
You can find 0% deals lasting as long as 33 months, however they almost all attract a fee. It’s very rare to find a free 0% balance transfer deal.
Apart from Barclaycard the only other provider that offers this sort of deal is Dankse Bank. Its Visa Credit Card offers five months 0% fee-free. However, you can only apply for it over the phone or in a branch.
Other cheap alternatives
The unique deals from Danske Bank and now Barclaycard offer an easy way to get back on track when it comes to credit card debt.
However, the 0% periods are very short and will only give you a brief breather from interest before it kicks in again (19.9% APR with Barclaycard and 22.9% with Danske Bank).
If you need longer than five or six months to clear your debt, there are plenty of alternative 0% balance transfer deals that come with a fee of less than 1% and offer longer as the table below demonstrates.
|
Credit card |
0% period |
Balance transfer fee |
Fee paid on £2,000 transfer |
Representative APR |
|
6 months |
None* |
£0 |
19.9% |
|
|
Danske Bank Credit Card |
5 months |
None |
£0 |
22.9% |
|
12 months |
0.5% |
£10 |
18.9% |
|
|
12 months |
0.5% |
£10 |
18.9% |
|
|
15 months |
0.55% |
£11 |
15.9% |
|
|
12 months |
0.65% |
£13 |
18.9% |
|
|
15 months |
0.65% |
£13 |
15.9% |
|
|
18 months |
0.7% |
£14 |
17.8% |
|
|
15 months |
0.7% |
£14 |
17.9% |
|
|
Bank of Scotland Platinum 15-Month Balance Transfer MasterCard |
15 months |
0.7% |
£14 |
17.9% |
|
15 months |
0.8% |
£16 |
17.9% |
|
|
15 months |
0.8% |
£16 |
17.9% |
|
|
17 months |
0.9% |
£18 |
18.9% |
*Limited time offer. 1% fee applies but is refunded as long as you transfer a balance within 60 days.
Arguably the best deal going at the moment comes from the Post Office. The Post Office Platinum MasterCard offers a mighty 18 months of 0% interest on balance transfers for a 0.7% fee.
Longer lasting deals
If you need longer than between six and 18 months there are plenty of cards to pick from, but you’ll have to stump up a bigger fee.
Barclaycard again leads the market, offering a whopping 33-month 0% period for a 2.99% fee. Below I've listed the longest-lasting offers right now.
|
Credit card |
0% period |
Balance transfer fee |
Fee paid on £2,000 transfer |
Representative APR |
|
33 months |
2.99% |
£59.80 |
18.9% |
|
|
32 months |
2.89% |
£57.80 |
18.9% |
|
|
32 months |
2.9% |
£58 |
18.9% |
|
|
32 months |
3% |
£60 |
18.9% |
|
|
32 months |
3.5% |
£70 |
18.9% |
|
|
32 months |
3.5% |
£70 |
18.94% |
|
|
31 months |
2.88% |
£57.60 |
18.9% |
|
|
31 months |
2.89% |
£57.80 |
18.9% |
|
|
30 months |
2.89% |
£57.80 |
18.9% |
|
|
30 months |
2.5% |
£50 |
18.9% |
|
|
HSBC Credit Card* |
30 months |
3.3% |
£66 |
18.9% |
*Only available to HSBC current account customers.
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