Credit Card Balance Transfer Deals

The table below provides a comparison for some of the best 0% credit card balance transfer deals for selected UK credit cards.

A credit card balance transfer is when you move a debt from an existing credit card onto another credit card with a lower or zero interest rate. This is usually offered to attract new customers and lasts for a specified period of time, which is often 6 months, 9 months, 12 months or occasionally 15 or 16 months. When the introductory period expires, the interest rate reverts to the standard rate.

Life of balance transfer offers.

0% rates for balance transfers

Credit Card	Intro Rate For Balance Transfers	Intro Rate For Purchases	Representative APR (variable)	Representative Example
Barclaycard Platinum Balance Transfer	0% for 24 months (Fee: 3.2%)	0% for 3 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Barclaycard Platinum Balance Transfer	Freeze your interest at 0% until 2014!

HSBC Bank	0% for 23 months (Fee: 3.3% fee - min £5)	0% for 3 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
HSBC Bank	This product is only available to existing HSBC customers

Barclaycard Platinum Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP	0% for 22 months (Fee: 3.2% )	0% for 3 months	17.5%	Representative Example 17.5% APR representative variable 17.5% p.a. variable on purchases £1,200 assumed credit limit
	Refund offer which reduces the handling fee to equivalent of 2.9% for everyone

Halifax Balance Transfer	0% for 22 months on balance transfers up to £3,000 (Fee: 3.5% - min £3.50)	0% for 3 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% APR representative variable 17.95% p.a. variable on purchases £1,200 assumed credit limit
Halifax Balance Transfer	You must have an annual income of £20,000 or more to apply

Virgin	0% for 20 months (Fee: 2.99%)	0% for 3 months	16.8%	Representative Example 16.8% representative APR variable 16.8% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Virgin	Rewards: Cardholders can take advantage of exclusive instant savings across the Virgin group with discounted holidays, wine, gym membership, experience days and more

Halifax	0% for 20 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	16.9%	Representative Example 16.9% representative APR variable 16.94% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 example credit limit
Halifax	You must have an annual income of £20,000 or more to apply

RBS Platinum The Royal Bank of Scotland plc. 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EN2 2YB	0% for 20 months (Fee: 2.9% - min £5)	0% for 6 months	17.9%	Representative Example Representative 17.9% APR (variable) based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200. Standard interest rate for purchases: 17.95% p.a. (variable) In the Representative Example above we have used an assumed credit limit of £1,200. The actual credit limit assigned to individual accounts will vary depending on our credit assessment of you. Pay 0% on balance transfers for 20 months (2.9% fee, min £5). This offer is only available online. Over 18s only. Minimum income to apply: £10k p.a.
	1% off the APR for Royalties Gold customers

NatWest Platinum	0% for 20 months (Fee: 2.9% - min £5)	0% for 6 months	17.9%	Representative Example Representative 17.9% APR (variable) based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200. Standard interest rate for purchases: 17.95% p.a. (variable) In the Representative Example above we have used an assumed credit limit of £1,200. The actual credit limit assigned to individual accounts will vary depending on our credit assessment of you. Pay 0% on balance transfers for 20 months (2.9% fee, min £5). This offer is only available online. Over 18s only. Minimum income to apply: £10k p.a.
NatWest Platinum	1% off the APR for Advantage Gold customers

Bank of Scotland Plus	0% for 18 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	16.9%	Representative Example 16.9% representative APR variable 16.94% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Bank of Scotland Plus

Halifax	0% for 17 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	16.9%	Representative Example 16.9% representative APR variable 16.94% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Halifax

Virgin All Round	0% for 16 months (Fee: 1.99% - min £3)	0% for 6 months	15.8%	Representative Example 15.8% representative APR variable 15.8% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Virgin All Round

AA Balance Transfer	0% for 16 months (Fee: 2.9%)	0% for 3 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
AA Balance Transfer	Earn AA Rewards Points on all purchases plus double points on fuel and motoring spend Rewards: Earn AA Reward Points every time you spend. Collect 1 AA point for every £1 you spend with double points on fuel and motoring purchases. Use your points to purchase from a range of motoring products and services

Halifax All In One	0% for 15 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 15 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.95% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Halifax All In One	The APR and length of the promotional offer are dependent on your personal circumstances

Bank of Scotland Advantage	0% for 13 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 13 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.95% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Bank of Scotland Advantage	To qualify you will need to have a Bank of Scotland Current Account which you pay £1,000 or more into each month or hold an Ultimate Reward Current Account.

RBS YourPoints World	0% for 13 months (Fee: 2.9% - min £5)	0% for 13 months	17.9%	Representative Example Representative 17.9% APR (variable) based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200. Standard interest rate for purchases: 17.95% p.a. (variable).
RBS YourPoints World	Introductory 2,500 bonus points to all new customers Rewards: The card gives you one reward point for every £1 you spend. Bonus points are also gifted on a yearly basis thereafter. Points can be redeemed against flights, holidays, shopping vouchers and experiences and at retail outlets including Marks & Spencer, Boots, easyJet, Harvey Nichols and Amazon

NatWest YourPoints World	0% for 13 months (Fee: 2.9% - min £5)	0% for 13 months	17.9%	Representative Example Representative 17.9% APR (variable) based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200. Standard interest rate for purchases: 17.95% p.a. (variable).
NatWest YourPoints World	Introductory 2,500 bonus points to all new customers Rewards: The card gives you one reward point for every £1 you spend. Bonus points are also gifted on a yearly basis thereafter. Points can be redeemed against flights, holidays, shopping vouchers and experiences and at retail outlets including Marks & Spencer, Boots, easyJet, Harvey Nichols and Amazon

Virgin Retail	0% for 13 months (Fee: 2.89%)	0% for 13 months	18.9%	Representative Example 18.9% representative APR variable 18.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Virgin Retail

AA Credit Card	0% for 12 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 10 months	16.9%	Representative Example 16.9% representative APR variable 16.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
AA Credit Card	Collect AA Rewards Points and exchange them for a range of motoring products and services Rewards: Earn AA Reward Points every time you spend. Collect 1 AA point for every £1 you spend with double points on fuel and motoring purchases. Use your points to purchase from a range of motoring products and services

Bank of Scotland All In One	0% for 12 months (Fee: 3% - min £3)	0% for 12 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.95% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Bank of Scotland All In One

Play.com MBNA Europe Bank Limited Stansfield House, Chester Business Park, Wrexham Road, Chester, CH4 9QQ	0% for 6 months (Fee: 1.5% - min £3)	0% for 9 months	16.9%	Representative Example 16.9% APR representative variable 16.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
	Receive 1,500 bonus Play Points if you spend £150 on your card within the first 90 days Suitable for homeowners with a good credit history, aged at least 23 and in full time employment Rewards: Collect Play Points and redeem them for Play.com gift vouchers. Earn 2 points for every £1 you spend at Play.com and 1 point for every £1 you spend elsewhere

When choosing a credit card, the first thing to consider is whether you already have credit card debts. If you do then your priority should be to find a card with a good balance transfer rate – there are plenty out there with a zero per cent balance transfer offer.

When you transfer your credit card balance you are effectively paying for your current debts on one card using a new card so that you now owe money to the new card. If that new card has a special introductory cheap rate for balance transfers then your previous, more expensive, card will be debt free and you'll be paying less interest, potentially zero per cent, on your new card.

The trick to paying off this debt without incurring any additional financial burden is to make sure that your monthly repayments are adequate enough to cover the debt before your introductory period matures. The most important rule to remember is not to buy anything with your new balance transfer card. If a card offers a genuinely good balance transfer rate then the chances are it won’t offer a similarly attractive purchase rate.

If you still want to spend on a credit card then you’d be well advised to get a second card for purchases and focus solely on paying off your balance transfer debts with the first card. If you’re doing this, it’s obviously in your interests to find a card with a good introductory deal on purchases.

Fees

Most providers charge a fee for balance transfers, which could be two or three percent of the amount you are seeking to move.

Pay more than just the minimum

A study by Moneysupermarket suggested that as many as 3 million cardholders in the UK (around one in 10) pay off only the minimum amount on their card each month, which will result in expensive interest charges.

In the case of a person who borrowed £1,000 at 18.13%, it would take them 17 years to repay their debt if they simply repaid the minimum amount each month. The total interest charge would be £1,113, with the total amount they would end up paying back amounting to £2,113, more than double the original sum borrowed.

Credit cards are best suited for short term borrowing and anyone with an outstanding balance on their card should consider switching to a credit offering 0 per cent interest on balance transfers. You should then aim to repay the debt as quickly as possible.

How much will I save?

Figures from the BBA, the UK banking and financial services trade association, reveal the average amount transferred in August 2010 was £2,180 and the average card APR stands at around 18%, so these figures are used in the example below to show how much could be saved with a balance transfer.

Balance to transfer : £2180
Current card APR: 18%
Current monthly repayment: £66 (which equates to around a 3% minimum repayment)
New card deal: 0% on balance transfers for 16 months
New card balance transfer fee: 2.9%

Saving over 16 months: £335