It's time for another review of the whole credit-card market to find the best cards for balance transfers.
Wow, that's moderately useful! It's fantastic!
Someone pointed out to me yesterday that one of my brothers is a bit like the enthusiastic Manchester teenager in BBC's The Fast Show, who thinks everything is brilliant. Amongst the things that Brilliant thinks are brilliant are: shelves, gravity, the Mafia, holes, yesterday, Ronnie Corbett, sequels, holidays, echoes, several different types of natural disaster, paint, kids, pavements, the sky, mams, microwaves, old people, sex, the Romans, shepherds, Jesus and golf.
Briiiiilllllllliiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnntttttt!
We could all use some of this enthusiasm when it comes to comparing credit cards, because it's a thankless chore. I assure you, it's more boring to write about the top credit cards than it is to read about them. I find it much more interesting to tell you why computers are better than people, for example.
But, frankly, this introduction has been my equivalent of playing Xbox instead of studying for exams, but now I must get on. Sigh. However, it's an unfortunate necessity that when we need to get a credit card or switch to a better deal we need decent, up-to-date information. So, if you have a balance to transfer, here are the top cards on the market.
The longest 0% balance transfer deals
Card | Transfer fee | Length of |
|---|---|---|
Mint credit card (including Gold and | 2.5% | 14 months |
NatWest credit card (including Gold | 2% | 13 months |
Royal Bank of Scotland credit card | 2% | 13 months |
Barclaycard (Platinum and Flexi-Rate | 2.9% | 13 months |
Capital One Bank Platinum card | 3% | 13 months |
3% (practically*) | 13 months | |
Dunfermline Building Society credit | 2% | 12 months |
Tesco credit card (Bonus card and | 2% | 12 months |
Abbey Balance Transfer credit card | 2% | 12 months |
Alliance & Leicester Online credit | 2.25% | 12 months |
*Actually, it's 2.98%, but I detest those sales tricks. Let's call it 3%, shall we?
There are lots of credit cards offering 0% balance transfer deals of 12 months or longer now. This lot are the top ones. The great news is that there are a couple of 13-month deals with just a 2% fee, from NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland. You can't really get better than that.
0% balance transfer deals with no transfer fees
Card | Length of |
|---|---|
Ulster Bank (NI) credit card (including | 6 months |
Britannia Building Society credit card | 5 months |
Northern Bank (NI) credit card | 5 months |
Data for these tables is supplied by independent money researcher Moneyfacts and by little old me.
It's great that there are still some credit cards that charge no fee whatsoever for 0% balance transfers, but notice that the length of the deal is limited to just five or six months.
My favourites from both the tables
Card | Transfer fee | Length of 0% deal on BTs |
|---|---|---|
Mint credit card (including Gold and | 2.5% | 14 months |
NatWest credit card (including Gold | 2% | 13 months |
Royal Bank of Scotland credit card | 2% | 13 months |
Ulster Bank (NI) credit card (including | 0% | 6 months |
Taking into account the length of the deal and the fees, the above four are my favourites.
> Compare credit cards
> Barclaycard Customers Face More Fees
> Make Money With Your Credit Card