Low Interest Credit Cards

Credit cards can be a cheap way to borrow money, but only if used correctly, that is, if you pay off your balance as often as possible and keep things like withdrawing cash and foreign usage to a minimum. If you're unhappy with your current deal and in search of a new card, it makes sense to find a low interest credit card.

The cards below are listed in order of those offering the most competitive standard or long term APR for purchases (not just introductory rates). A low interest credit card can save you money if you do not intend to pay off your balance each month. The lower the APR the cheaper the interest.

Credit Card	Intro Rate For Balance Transfers	Intro Rate For Purchases	Representative APR (variable)	Representative Example
Barclaycard Simplicity Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP	7.9% (Fee: no fee)	7.9%	7.9%	Representative Example 7.9% representative APR variable 7.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
	Suitable for applicants with a good credit rating

Capital One Click Capital One, Trent House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3HX	9.9% (Fee: no fee)	9.9%	9.9%	Representative Example 9.9% APR representative variable 9.94% p.a. variable on purchases £1,200 credit limit
	If you love shopping online, the Click Card is designed for you Suitable for applicants with a very good credit rating and an annual income of over £20,000 Rewards: This card gives you access to exclusive brand discounts when you use it to shop online. New deals and retailers are added every quarter which are valid for a 3 month period

Lloyds TSB Advance	4.9% for 12 months (Fee: 3%)	0% for 6 months	11.9%	Representative Example 11.9% representative APR variable 11.95% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Lloyds TSB Advance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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!

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

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 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

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

Lloyds TSB Platinum	0% for 15 months (Fee: 3% )	0% for 3 months	17.9%	Representative Example 17.9% representative APR variable 17.95% p.a. variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
Lloyds TSB Platinum

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 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

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

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

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

American Express Platinum Cashback	-	14.0%	18.5%	Representative Example Representative 18.5% APR variable. Based on annual fee of £25 and assumed credit limit of £1200. Interest rate for purchases: 14.0% p.a. variable
American Express Platinum Cashback	Earn 5% cashback for the first three months up to a maximum of £100 plus 2.5% cashback in the anniversary month when you spend £10,000 a year £25 annual fee Cashback: Up to 5%

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

Capital One World MasterCard Capital One, Trent House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3HX	19.9% (Fee: no fee)	19.9%	19.9%	Representative Example 19.9% APR representative variable 19.94% p.a. variable on purchases £1,200 credit limit
	5% cashback on all purchases for the first 3 months Cashback: Earn 5% cashback on purchases for the first 3 months (max £100) and up to 1.25% unlimited cashback thereafter

British Airways American Express	-	19.9%	19.9%	Representative Example 19.9% representative APR variable 19.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
British Airways American Express	Get 9,000 bonus Avios when you spend £1,000 on your card within the first 3 months Rewards: Earn 1 Avios for virtually every £1 you spend

Barclaycard Initial Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP	-	29.9%	29.9%	Representative Example 29.9% representative APR variable 29.9% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
	Suitable for people looking to strengthen or rebuild their credit rating

Capital One Classic Capital One, Trent House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3HX	34.9% (Fee: 3%)	34.9%	34.9%	Representative Example 34.9% APR representative variable 34.94% p.a.variable on purchase £1,200 credit limit
	Great for people who want to build or rebuild their credit rating

aqua	-	35.9%	35.9%	Representative Example Your interest rate for purchases is 35.95% p.a with a representative 35.9% APR if you borrowed £1,200 and repaid it over 12 months
aqua

Vanquis Visa	-	39.9%	39.9%	Representative Example Purchase annual interest rate 39.94% (variable) Amount of credit £1,000 Representative 39.9% APR (variable)
Vanquis Visa

Rates on the rise

In February 2010 a report from Moneyfacts, the financial information provider, revealed credit card interest rates were at their highest for 12 years despite interest rates being at a record low.

The average annual percentage rate (APR) charged for credit card debt had soared from a low of 14.8% in February 2006 when the base rate was 4.5%, to a steep 18.8% compared with a Bank of England base rate at just 0.5%.

This means that credit card borrowers with a debt of £5,000 on their card - who make only the minimum repayment each month - will now repay an additional £2,289 over the life of the debt compared with what they would have paid in 2006.

It has never been more important to check the interest rate you're paying and, in many cases, to switch to a low interest credit card.

Martyn Saville from consumer body Which?, commented: 'These new figures are staggering at a time when both base rate and interest rates for savers remain historically low. Credit card users in the UK are being punished for the banks' poor lending decisions in the past and for lenders' need to rebuild their own balance sheets and profit margins.

Credit card rates have been soaring, even for good, loyal customers. According to the UK Cards Association, more than 6.4 million credit card accounts were "re-priced upwards" in 2009.

Consumer champion Martin Lewis, says: "These massive increases are what we call 'rate-jacking' – as the companies involved are hijacking accounts and potentially blighting people's ability to manage their debts."

The increases are a consequence of more providers using 'rate-for-risk' which essentially is the card provider assigning an interest rate to a borrower based on their credit record and repayment history. Card companies have a range of rates and the rate offered will depend on the applicants credit score; those that appear to be a higher risk, or are more likely to default on their debts, will be charged a higher APR. Research from Defaqto shows that two thirds of applicants will get the best 'headline' rate, but up to one third will be offered a higher rate.

If you are a good credit risk, then there are still decent low interest credit card offers available. Loyalty to you current provider isn't necessarily the most prudent course of action.