Balance transfers

• 0% Balance Transfer Cards
• 0% Purchase Cards
• 0% Balance Transfer and Purchase Cards
• Cashback Cards
• Long Term/ Life of Balance Transfer
• Low Standard Rate Cards
• Loyalty Reward Cards

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
Capital One BT Exclusive	0%	Until 01/10/2009	3.0%	15.9%
Virgin Credit Card	0%	15 mths	2.98%	15.9%
Capital One Platinum	0%	Until 01/09/2009	3.0%	12.9%
Egg Card	0%	Until 01/09/2009	3.0%	16.9%
Barclaycard Platinum 'As on TV'	0%	14 mths	2.9%	14.9%

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
Capital One Platinum	0%	Until 01/09/2009	12.9%
Capital One Platinum Exclusive	0%	Until 01/05/2009	11.9%
Halifax One Online Special	0%	10 mths	15.9%
Bank of Scotland	0%	10 mths	15.9%
Barclaycard Life of Balance	0%	10 mths	15.9%

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
Capital One Platinum	Until 01/09/2009	Until 01/09/2009	12.9%
Capital One Platinum Exclusive	Until 01/05/2009	Until 01/05/2009	11.9%
Halifax One Online Special	10 mths	10 mths	15.9%
Bank of Scotland	10 mths	10 mths	15.9%
Capital One BT Exclusive	Until 01/10/2008	Until 01/10/2009	15.9%

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
American Express Platinum	5% Moneyback for 3 months, up to 1.5% thereafter
Capital One Cashback	4% rebate until 01/09/08 on purchases, 1% thereafter
Shell MasterCard - Citi	3% rebate on Shell fuel spend, 1% on other purchases
Barclaycard Cashback	4% Cashback until 31/07/08, 0.5% until 01/01/10

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
Barclaycard Life of Balance	6.5%	15.9%	Life of Balance

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
Barclaycard Low Rate Special	8.8%	56
Capital One Platinum Exclusive	11.9%	56

Card	Rate	Duration	BT Fee	Typical APR
MBNA Platinum Rewards Card	1 point for every £1.00 spent

, however, cheap credit card are usually only cheap for a limited period.

Some introductory offers are applicable for as long as 18 months, but the norm for zero interest rates is 59 days.

If you have existing credit card debt it may be more economical to transfer your balance onto a new card with a zero or low introductory rate. By doing so your new credit card provider will pay your current debt allowing you to then make repayment on the same debt at a better interest rate.

Some questions to consider before applying for a balance transfer:

Q. Will the introductory rate cover the transfer of outstanding balances?

Q. What does the interest rate revert to when the introductory rate closes?

Q. Is there a transfer fee?

Check the small print

The small print will reveal just how ‘great’ the credit card deal is, so there should be no unpleasant surprises come end of introductory period. Good credit cards include low interest rates. Credit cards are always advertised with a ‘typical APR,’ which is the normal rate of interest when the introductory rates expire. The interest rate is likely to soar from low/zero to the typical APR rating – so be prepared.

As you will still be subjected to a minimum balance, maintain your monthly payments – late fees associated with using credit cards are high. Failure to maintain payments on time will also disqualify you from low interest rate advantages.