Balance Transfers

It is estimated that one third of credit card holders fail to pay off their balances in full each month. These people could save themselves a small fortune by regularly switching to a 0% deal, especially as there are now a number of 0% balance transfer credit card deals on offer. We provide a summary of some of the leading balance transfer rates on offer below.  You can see at a glance who offers the longest 0% intro period for transferring a card balance. It is estimated that if everyone switched their credit cards to another provider, more than £2 billion a year could be saved in all.

If you're intending to shift your debt, do your sums carefully as you may not save as much as you'd hoped. Card companies have recently introduced balance transfer fees, so you might  find that a credit card with a life of balance rate would save you more.

Below is a summary of the best balance deals currently available in the UK.

Click on the card for full details / apply online.

Credit Card Click card for more details or to apply		Promotional Rate for Balance Transfers (Balance transfer fee rates in brackets)	Promotional Rate for Purchases	Cashback	Typical APR (variable)
	NatWest Gold	8.9% for the life of the balance (no fee)	8.9% for nine months	2% of your remaining transferred balance will be paid into your account every six months	16.9%
	Virgin	0% for 16 months (2.98%)	0% for 3 months	Virgin cardholders can take advantage of exclusive instant discounts with money off holidays, wine, music, gym membership, DVDs and insurance	16.6%
	NatWest Platinum	0% for 15 months (2.9% - min £5)	0% for 3 months	-	16.9%
	HSBC Bank	0% for 15 months (2.9% - min £5)	0% for 3 months	-	16.9%
	RBS Platinum	0% for 15 months (2.9% - min £5)	0% for 3 months	-	16.9%
	MBNA Platinum Plus	0% until July 2010 (2.9%)	0% until September 2009	-	15.9%
	MBNA Rewards	0% for 13 months (2.9% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	Collect 1 reward point for every £1 spent. Reward points can be redeemed for travel and entertainment offers or high street vouchers	15.9%
	Halifax All In One	0% for 9 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 9 months	-	15.9%
	Bank of Scotland All In One	0% for 9 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 9 months	-	15.9%
	NatWest	16.9% (no fee)	4.9% for 9 months	-	16.9%
	Royal Bank of Scotland	16.9% (no fee)	4.9% for 9 months	-	16.9%
	American Express Nectar	-	15.9%	Earn up to 4 Nectar points for every £1 spent, 5,000 bonus points when you first spend £200 and double points for the first 3 months	15.9%
	American Express Platinum MoneyBack	-	18.9%	Up to 5% cashback on purchases	18.9%
	Capital One Classic	-	34.9%	-	34.9%
	Vanquis Visa	-	39.9%	-	39.9%

Transferring a credit card balance sounds complicated, but is actually very simple. To transfer a balance from one card to another you simply inform your new card provider where to transfer the balance from and they will then pay off your debt.  You then owe the new card the money instead. The main reason for transferring a balance is to benefit from better rates of interest.

0% intro rates for new customers
It’s not just about what the rates of interest are but for how long the rates last that counts. Many cards now offer interest free debt to new customers for an introductory period usually lasting around 6 months.  Anyone who has debts on a credit card, and a reasonable credit history, should be able to obtain 0% for balance transfers.  However is is important to note that 0% interest does not mean there is nothing to repay it just means all you have to do is meet the credit card minimum payments each month and pay nothing in interest on what is left over. 

If you still have a debt when the 0% period come to and end there is nothing preventing you from shifting the balance again to another card. The time to switch the money is the month before the deal ends – which usually means applying for a new card about 6 weeks before the deadline date. 

Life of Balance Deals

If you anticipate carrying over a balance for longer than the intro periods available and don’t want to repeatedly switch should use ‘life of balance’ transfers where the special rate lasts until the entire balance transferred is paid off. Examples of these are Morgan Stanley Platinum.