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Balance Transfer Credit Card GuideMove outstanding card debt to a 0% offer or low rate for lifeWHAT ARE THEY?
Balance transfer credit cards allow you to shift outstanding debt from your current credit card onto a cheaper credit card. You can choose to move your balance to a credit card offering a 0% interest rate for an introductory period (around 12 - 15 months) or a low interest rate (around and under the base rate) until the balance is repaid in full. The reason to move your balance to a cheaper rate is not only to save you money in interest charges, but also to allow you to use the money you're saving to repay the debt quicker. BALANCE TRANSFER TYPES
Which type of balance transfer deal is right for you? 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards 0% balance transfer credit cards offer 0% interest rates on balance transfers for an introductory period of time.
0% Balance Transfer & Purchase Credit Cards 0% balance transfer and purchase credit cards offer 0% rates on both balance transfers and purchases for the same length of time - making them suitable for both purchase spending and transferring a balance.
Life of Balance Transfer Credit Cards Life of balance transfer credit cards offer a low interest rate until you have paid off your balance in full. Often with interest rates around and below the base rate, life of balance transfers offer a cheaper alternative to the worries of ending promotional periods.
No Fee Balance Transfer Credit Cards No fee balance transfer credit cards offer a low rate balance transfer deal where there is no handling fee to pay on the balance you are transferring.
Low Rate Balance Transfer Credit Cards Low rate balance transfers offer an interest rate below or around the base rate either for an introductory period or until you have repaid your balance in full.
COMPARE CREDIT CARDS
Compare balance transfer credit cards See the top credit cards for:
Which type of balance transfer credit card is right for me?
We all have different spending habits and different ways of managing our finances - so it would stand to reason that one size doesn't necessarily fit all. With a little research - and the help of this guide - you should be able to find a balance transfer credit card to suit your requirements, and most importantly - save you money. Read more FEATURES
A deeper look into the world of credit card balance transfers Make your New Year stretch to 15 months with 0% interest!
The New Year is always an exciting time to look ahead to positive change and progress, and often there is no better place to start than your bank balance. Chinese astrologists are predicting the 2008 year of the rat to be a good time for new ventures - so maybe this year, with the help of up to 15-months at 0%, is the year to get back in control of your finances and clear that credit card! Switching plastic is the best way to save hundreds of pounds in interest charges, and at 0% - all your payments will go towards repaying the balance instead of battling against interest charges, enabling you to become debt free quicker. Read more MBNA Platinum Plus Credit Card, and Making Money through Stoozing MBNA relaunched their 'Platinum Plus' credit card this month with a third 0% offer in addition to the preexisting 0% periods on balance transfers and purchases. While a third 0% deal was of paramount interest alone, the overt advertisement of the ability to 'stooze' off the credit card could not be foresaken. So in conjuction to a breakdown of this soon to be infamous third 0% offering, we've compiled a guide on stoozing, and how to use the MBNA Platinum Plus credit card to make yourself some free money! Read more NEWS & UPDATED OFFERS
New and updated balance transfer offers
HSBC update their credit card offering for the New Year by reducing their balance transfer offer rate to just 2.9% per annum. While this rate is almost cheaper by half than the previous offer, the period it will last has been reduced too. The low-rate balance transfer offer now lasts for 2 years, which is still plenty of time to repay - or certainly take a chunk out of - most balances. Read the review
Egg keep the heat on boil in the competition between the credit cards holding their lengthened 0% balance transfer offer at up to 15 months. This longer balance transfer deal now runs alongside their self-invented anniversary offer to give you even more 0% balance transfers in 2010 and 2011 too! Read the review
CURRENT BEST DEALS
Current best balance transfer offers Best for 0% balance transfers... Offering... Balance transfers: Intro purchases: % APR Best for 0% balance transfers & purchases... Offering... Balance transfers: Intro purchases: % APR Capital One Platinum credit card review » Best for life of balance transfers... Offering... Balance transfers: % APR Citi Platinum credit card review » QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Got a balance transfer question? Search the credit card questions & answers Recently added balance transfer credit card questions Q. What is the allocation of payments clause?
A. The allocation of payments is a clause listed in the terms and conditions of all credit cards. This clause states the order in which payments you make to your account will be applied.
Usually, it's typical to find the order of balances running from the lowest rates being repaid first - promotional deals, to the higher rate balances being repaid last - standard rates and then higher rates such as cash transactions. This order of payments can lead to more costly balances becoming 'trapped' behind cheaper balances that need to be repaid first. Read the full answer Q. How long is the longest 0% balance transfer deal?
A. 0% balance transfer credit cards have been around a good half decade, however consumer demand and supplier competition has yet to abate - in fact, the current market boundaries being pushed by one credit card issuer or another is a common occurence.
Initially, when 0% balance transfer credit cards first hit the financial scene - you'd of been a pretty happy cardholder to get 0% for 6 months. However, nowadays 0% balance transfer deals are now reaching the 15-month mark, with the majority of deals lasting for at least 1 year. Read the full answer |
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