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)
	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%
	RBS Platinum	0% for 15 months (2.9% - min £5)	0% for 3 months	-	16.9%
	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%
	Egg	0% until March 2011 (3%)	0% until April 2010	Up to 10% cash back at selected online retailers	16.9%
	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	16.9%
	MBNA Platinum Plus	0% for 13 months (2.9%)	0% for 3 months	-	16.9%
	Sony Card	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	Collect SonyCard Pulsebeats towards Sony products	15.9%
	RSPCA Platinum	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	-	15.9%
	Dogs Trust	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	-	15.9%
	WWF Charity	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	-	15.9%
	Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	-	15.9%
	National Trust Charity	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% for 3 months	-	15.9%
	AA Credit Card	0% for 12 months (3% - min £3)	0% on motoring, fuel and AA purchases for 12 months	Collect AA Rewards Points and exchange them for a range of motoring products and services	16.9%
	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%
	Capital One Progress	-	34.9%	-	34.9%
	British Airways American Express	-	19.9%	Earn 1 BA Mile for virtually every £1 you spend. BA Miles can be redeemed for flights on British Airways mainline services	19.9%
	MBNA Rate for Life	5.9% for the life of the balance (2% - min £3)	16.9%	-	16.9%
	Capital One Plus	14.9% (3%)	0% until August 2010	-	14.9%
	Express Rewards	17.9% (3%)	0% for 6 months	Earn up to 3 points for every £1 spent at major UK supermarkets, 2 points for every £1 at UK department stores and 1 point for every £1 elsewhere. Exchange points for gift vouchers at favourite high street stores and online retailers	17.9%
	Royal Bank of Scotland	19.9% (no fee)	4.9% for 9 months	-	19.9%
	NatWest	19.9% (no fee)	4.9% for 9 months	-	19.9%
	American Express Platinum Cashback	-	19.9%	Up to 5% cashback on purchases	19.9%
	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.