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Is this the best credit card ever?

Nationwide has slashed the balance transfer fee on its two credit cards: the Nationwide credit card and the Select credit card.

Previously the cards, which both have 26-month interest-free periods on balance transfers, had a balance transfer fee of 2.4% of the debt you're transferring. But until 31st March 2014 Nationwide will offer the same deal for just 0.75%.

That means transferring £2,000 worth of credit card debt onto either card will now cost just £15, instead of £48.

Both the Nationwide credit card and the Select card are now also easily the best low-fee balance transfer credit cards around.

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And Nationwide's reduced fee deal makes its cards the cheapest long-term balance transfer offerings out there.

But that's not all you can get from the Select card.

[Compare the 0% balance transfer credit cards with the lowest fees]



Best card ever?

The Select card also offers: a competitive 15 months interest free on purchases, commission free purchases abroad and 0.5% cashback on all sterling purchases – making it pretty much the best all-round credit card out there.



How to get the Select card

The Select card is only available to Nationwide current account customers.

If you already have or choose to open either the FlexAccount, FlexDirect or the £10-a-month FlexPlus you will be eligible to apply for the card.

Out of the three the FlexDirect account is the one most worth a look. That's because it offers both 5% AER interest on in-credit balances up to £2,500 and a fee-free overdraft for 12 months.

If you don't fancy opening a current account in order to get the Select card you can still take advantage of the cheapest balance transfer offer going via the Nationwide credit card, which is open to anyone.

[Compare top current accounts]



Market-leading alternatives

There are other 0% balance transfer, 0% purchase, cashback and free foreign usage cards to consider – it all depends what you need from a credit card.

For example, Barclaycard is top for the longest-lasting 0% balance transfer deal. It’s offering a whopping 31 months to freeze debt (with a 2.99% transfer fee) on its 31-Month Platinum Visa. It’s the longest lasting deal ever, but this market tends to move all the time.

Meanwhile Santander and Tesco both offer the longest interest-free periods on spending. The Santander Credit Card for Purchases and the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card for Purchases both offer 18 months of 0% interest on purchases – three months more than the Select card.

If you like the idea of earning cashback on your credit card spending the American Express Platinum Everyday Cashback Card is paying the top rate of all the fee-free cards at the moment. You can earn 5% cashback on up to £2,000 worth of spending in your first three months with the card. Thereafter it will pay between 0.5% and 1.25% depending on how much you spend.

And for a card that can save you money on holiday the Post Office Platinum offers commission-free purchases abroad, but it also won’t charge a cash-advance fee if you use the card to buy foreign currency at Post Office branches.

Having said that, the Select card is pretty competitive on all fronts and isn’t far behind the individual top runners in each category. So if you only want to carry one card then the Select is the one to go for.

[Compare top credit cards]