Price war on 0% credit cards

Whether you want to pay off some debt or spread the cost of a new purchase, it's a great time to take advantage of fierce competition on 0% credit cards.

You can have up to two and a half years with no interest to pay on balance transfers via Barclaycard and up to a year and a half with no interest to pay on purchases with Santander or Tesco.

0% balance transfer cards with long interest-free periods

Let's start by looking at the cards with the longest 0% periods.

Barclaycard has consistently topped this table but there are several other providers right behind.

Credit card	0% period on balance transfers	Balance transfer fee	Representative APR
Barclaycard 30-Month Platinum Visa	30 months	2.89%	18.9%
Barclaycard 29-Month Visa	29 months	2.49%	18.9%
MBNA 29-Month Platinum Visa	29 months	2.89%	18.9%
Tesco Clubcard Credit Card for Balance Transfers	29 months	2.9%	18.9%
Santander 29-Month Balance Transfers	29 months	3%	18.9%

[Compare cards with the longest 0% balance transfer period]

0% cards with low balance transfer fees

However, if you're willing to go for a card with a shorter interest-free period, you can pay a much lower fee. Even so, you can still get up to 25 months with no interest to pay for a fee of just 1.5%, courtesy of the Barclaycard 25-Month Platinum Balance Transfer.

Here are the cards with the lowest balance transfer fees in order.

Credit card	0% period on balance transfers	Balance transfer fee	Representative APR
Fluid Low Fee Visa	12 months	0.75%	18.9%
Barclaycard 12-Month Platinum Low Fee Visa	12 months	0.79%	18.9%
Halifax All in One MasterCard	15 months	0.8%	17.9%
TSB Platinum MasterCard	15 months	0.8%	17.9%
Lloyds Platinum MasterCard	15 months	0.8%	17.9%
Santander Credit Card with Low Transfer Fee	17 months	0.9%	18.9%
Barclaycard 25-Month Platinum Balance Transfer	25 months	1.5%	18.9%
TSB Platinum 24 Months Balance Transfer Card	24 months	1.5%	17.9%
Lloyds Platinum 24-Month MasterCard	24 months	1.5%	17.9%
Bank of Scotland Platinum 24-Month MasterCard	24 months	1.5%	17.9%

[Compare 0% balance transfer cards with low fees]

Current longest 0% purchase credit cards

Here are the longest 0% periods on offer today for purchases. Both Santander and Tesco offer cards with introductory periods of 18 months with no interest to pay on purchases made within the first 90 days.

Credit card	0% period	Representative APR
Santander Credit Card for Purchases	18 months	18.9%
Tesco Clubcard for Purchases	18 months	18.9%
Halifax Purchase Credit Card	17 months	16.9%
Halifax All in One MasterCard	15 months	17.9%
M&S Bank MasterCard	15 months	16.9%
NatWest Platinum Balance Transfer and Purchase	15 months	16.9%
Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum Balance Transfer and Purchase	15 months	16.9%
Nationwide Purchase Visa	15 months	17.9%
Sainsbury's Bank Nectar Credit Card	15 months	16.9%
Nationwide Select Card*	15 months	15.9%

*Only available to Nationwide current account holders

[Compare 0% purchase credit cards]

Things to remember

If you get hold of a 0% deal, you must make at least the minimum repayment each month, or your 0% offer could be withdrawn and you'll get a black mark on your credit report. Set up a direct debit to make sure that doesn't happen to you.

Ideally, you will have paid off your balance in full by the time the 0% period comes to an end.

Credit ratings

Sadly, some people won't be able to get any of the cards we've highlighted in this article. That's because the credit card companies are only willing to give these cards to people with good credit ratings.

If you can't get a 0% card but you're paying a high interest rate, you could look at switching your debt to a card with a lower one while you improve your credit rating.

[How to repair your credit rating]

[Compare 0% credit cards]