Balance Transfer Card Low Apr Life Of Balance

New credit card balance transfer battle

Today Barclaycard announced that it would be upping its deal to 18 months, beating Nationwide by one month, to make it the with the longest balance transfer offer on the market.

Balance transfer cards allow you to move an existing credit card debt to a new provider at a 0% rate.

There are over a hundred 0% balance transfer credit card deals on the market, ranging from three months to Barclaycard's 18 months.

Other credit card providers have also introduced new deals to tempt borrowers. Tomorrow M&S launches a new offer of 0% on all purchases with its card for 15 months and earlier this week MBNA launched a new 'rate for life' credit card at 5.9%.

›› Do your own research on credit ca rds and examine the smallprint

We round up the cards and highlight what you should watch out for

Nationwide

The new card from Nationwide offers 0% on balance transfers for 17 months and 0% on purchases for three months. There is a fee of 2.95% (£5 minimum on each transfer) and transfers must be made within three months of opening the account.

After the 18 months has ended the headline APR (the advertised rate that 52% of successful applications must get) is 15.9%, which is lower than the average rate of 18.9% across the market.

The card is also available to those who don't want to transfer their balance with a separate offer of 0% on purchases for six months.

Barclaycard

Barclaycard has upped its 17 month balance transfer offer to 18 months with a fee of 2.9% for transferring the balance.

Anyone who makes an application online by the end of the month and transfers £3,000 or more will get £20 knocked off the fee.

For example, the £87 fee on a £3,000 transfer would be cut down to £67, meaning the fee is effectively cut to 2.23% from 2.9%. Transfers must be made within 60 days of opening the account.

After the 18 month introductory period is up, the APR advertised interest rate is 16.9% - although, this will depend on the individual customer's credit history.

M&S

From tomorrow M&S Money will be offering a 15 month 0% period on all purchases for new customers.

5 Easy Tips for to Save Money on Credit Card Balance Transfers ...

5 Easy Tips for to Save Money on Credit Card Balance Transfers – Saving Grace (Fine Line Features)

In today’s financial market more and more people are turning to credit card balance transfers instead of the traditional home equity lines that they have been used in the past. During the refinance hay-day throwing a tax deductible line of credit on the home to wipe out the credit cards was a no-brainer. Nowadays, shrinking home values and a turbulent secondary market are causing most banks have to hold these loans as opposed to selling them. This means the HELOCS of yesterday are only available to those with impeccable credit who have an abundance of equity in their homes.

Luckily, interest rates are low and balance transfers are a pretty good alternative if your credit card debt is out of control and need some help. This being said there are a few things that you want to look out for when transferring credit card balances from one card to another. The golden rule is that when you use a balance transfer card as an avenue to pay off balances on your other cards let this be your sole purpose. Make a budget and timetable to pay off the debt where there is a beginning and an ending payment otherwise you may get yourself into deeper debt.

Things to look for when transferring credit card balances:

Life of Balance Transfer cards – Life of balance credit cards are just what their name implies, they offer a low rate that applies to the balances you transfer within a certain time period. What you want to look for is a fixed rate that will not fluctuate over time. Depending on your credit level these may not be available to you, however if they are we highly suggest that you seek these cards out. The “gotcha” with this class of cards is that they usually will give you an extra thousand or two on your limit in hopes that you spend it at a higher interest rate, and most people do.

Again, we suggest that you use balance transfer credit cards for the single purpose of transferring higher interest credit card balances to a lower fixed rate. Once the transfer is completed, we recommend that you shred the transfer card and the one you transferred from to keep yourself from using them again. Over 75% of people that transfer balances use the transfer card and the old card again and end up owing more money than they did before the transfer. If the cards do not have an annual fee keep the accounts open for emergencies but shred the cards to keep yourself honest.