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The big credit card battle
The credit card market is really competitive at the moment with new launches coming all the time.
The big credit card battle
Barclaycard has been fighting very hard all year for new credit card customers with some excellent offers. But over the last month, we’ve seen a fightback from some of Barclaycard’s rivals with some cracking cards. All in all, it’s a great time to get a new credit card.
Looking at 0% balance transfer cards, we’ve seen competition on both the length of the interest-free period and also on the size of the balance transfer fee.
The current offers are especially exciting if you want a card with a low fee. Natwest made a splash last month by launching the Natwest Platinum Low BT Fee credit card.
If you transferred an existing credit card debt to this card, you wouldn’t have to pay any interest on the debt for 13 months and the fee would be just 1%! Typically, balance transfer fees are around the 3% mark, so this is a great deal.
Barclaycard wouldn’t let Natwest be the market leader for long so it’s fought back with the Barclaycard Lowest Ever BT Fee Visa card. This card has a 12-month 0% period and the fee is just 0.9%.
Here are all the leading low-fee balance transfer cards:
Card | 0% period | Balance transfer fee | Fee paid on £2000 transfer | Representative APR after 0% period ends |
12 months | 0.9% | £18 | 19.9% | |
Natwest Platinum Low BT Fee Credit Card | 13 months | 1% | £20 | 17.9% |
Barclaycard Platinum Low Balance Transfer Fee | 16 months | 1.5% | £30 | 18.9% |
15 months | 1.5% | £30 | 15.9% | |
17 months | 2% | £40 | 11.9% |
However, it’s possible that 12 or 13 months won’t be a long enough time to pay off your credit card debt. If that’s the case there are plenty of cards offering longer 0% periods, and competition in this part of the market is just as fierce.
Once again, Barclaycard is offering the most attractive card. The Barclaycard 23 Month Platinum Visa card offers a 23-month 0% period and only charges a 2.8% fee. And if you think you could pay off your debt a bit more quickly, the 22-Month Barclaycard only charges a 2.6% fee.
That said, Barclaycard’s rivals have pushed back with some deals that are almost as strong. The Natwest Platinum Extended BT Credit Card is a nice card if you’re looking for a 23-month 0% period and the 3.5% fee isn’t too bad given the length of the 0% period.
Halifax’s 22-month MasterCard is another appealing card – you’ll only have to pay a 3% fee for a 22-month card.
Let’s see how these cards compare with the other leading balance transfer cards:
Top 0% balance transfer cards
Card | 0% period | Balance Transfer Fee | Fee paid on £2000 transfer | Rate after 0% period ends |
23 months | 2.8% | £56 | 17.9% | |
HSBC Visa for existing customers | 23 months | 3.3% | £66 | 17.9% |
23 months | 3.5% | £70 | 17.9% | |
23 months | 3.5% | £70 | 17.9% | |
22 months | 2.6% | £52 | 17.9% | |
22 months | 2.9% | £58 | 16.9% | |
22 months | 3% | £60 | 17.9% | |
22 months | 3.2% | £64 | 17.9% | |
22 months | 3.2% | £64 | 17.9% |
Avios
Things are also getting more competitive in the reward card market.
You’ll now receive more Avios points if you get a new British Airways American Express credit card.
Avios is the successor scheme to Airmiles and you can get 9000 Avios points if you spend £1000 in the first three months you have the card. That’s enough points to get you a free return flight to Berlin, Zurich, Edinburgh or Dublin.
So whether you want to pay off a debt as quickly as possible, or get some rewards for your spending, there are some great card deals available at the moment.
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