12 Month Transfer Card

New Balance Transfer Deals Offer New Incentives to Move

Barclaycard is launching its balance transfer promotion today, offering customers a record 20 months interest free on outstanding balances, and discounted handling fees.

This offer follows a battle between Barclaycard, MBNA and Virgin, who all announced a balance transfer of 18 months at 0%, after which Barclaycard increased this period further to a market first of 20 months.

The promotion entitles new customers to 25% off the balance transfer handling fee of additional transfers when transferring more than one balance to a Barclaycard account.

The new offer is available from today, 21st March 1pm, until 3rd May, and refers to the Barclaycard Platinum Credit Card , Barclaycard Platinum Credit Card with Purchase, and Barclaycard Platinum 14 month Credit Card.

The Barclaycard Platinum Credit card offers 0% on balance transfers for 20 months, with 0% percent on purchases for 3 months, a 3.2% handling fee, and an AP representative variable of 17.5%.

The Barclaycard Platinum Credit Card with Purchase offers 0% on balance transfers for 12 months, with 0% on purchases for also 12 months, a 2.9% handling fee, and an AP representative variable of 16.9%.

The Barclaycard Platinum 14 month Credit Card offers 0% on balance transfers for 14 months, and 0% on purchases for 6 months, a 2.7% handling fee and an AP representative variable of 16.9%.

MBNA meanwhile are offering 0% on balance transfers for 18 months on their Balance Transfer Credit Card, with a 2.88 percent handling fee.  There is 0% on card purchases for the first three months, and an AP representative variable of 16.7%.

The Virgin Money Balance Transfer Credit Card also increased their 0% interest period from 16 to 18 months for new customers.  They are offering a fee of 2.89 percent for the transfer, 0% on card purchases for the first 3 months and an AP representative variable of 16.8%.

These offers provide consumers with a new incentive to transfer their existing debts to a new account, rewarding them with more time than ever before to repay their debts, interest free and also to reduce the fee they are charged for the move if they act now.

To qualify for the promotion, customers are asked to transfer their balances within 60 days of opening their Barclaycard Platinum Multiple balance transfers from the same location.

Customers have to move more than one balance, and the minimum amount per transfer has to exceed £100.

Citibank Platinum Select Now Offering 0% APR for 21 Months on ...

Over the past 6 months or so, we’ve witnessed a battle in the world of no interest credit cards.  Citibank lobbed the first grenade when they introduced a limited offer of 0% on balance transfers for up to 21 months with the Platinum Select.  Soon thereafter, they hiked it to 24 months, while also offering no interest on purchases for up to 12 months.

The 24-month promo didn’t last very long however, and they stepped down their transfer offer to 18 months, giving Discover the opportunity to step in and offer 0% on balance transfers for 24 months with the More rewards card.  Since then, Citibank moved their offer back to 21 months.  But the battle until now has taken place almost entirely in balance transfers.

Now, however, Citibank has pulled out the big guns with the most enticing no-interest credit card deal available.  Not only can users move high-interest balances over to the Platinum Select and avoid paying interest for nearly two years, but they can also avoid paying interest on any new purchases. The new version of Citi’s premier low interest credit card is offering new cardholders a 0% APR for 21 months on both balance transfers and purchases.

We don’t ever advocate that people should take advantage of deals like this in order to accumulate credit card debt.  Once the promotion runs out, you’ll get dinged with high interest rates, or have to run off and find another 0% APR credit card to take its place. Neither is really optimal.

But, if you have a big-ticket purchase coming up, this could be a great money saver.  For example, if you know you need to make some serious repairs to your car, or if you have a substantial tax bill looming over the next month, you can finance these purchases for nearly two years without interest.  This is better than any financing deal you’ll get from a retailer, or even with any other credit card.

Another tactic that some credit card hackers like to employ (which we also won’t advocate, but it’s worth mentioning) is using a no-interest credit card to make investments.  For example, if you can fund an online bank account with your credit card, this would allow you to earn interest on the money you invest, without paying interest to your card company for 21 months.  Interest rates are pretty low right now, so it’s tough to make much money doing this, but I’ve heard stories of many people who do it anyway.