Barclaycard halves balance transfer fees

Barclaycard is slicing its balance transfer fees in half across its credit card range. But you need to move quickly to take advantage.

From today, the market leader in credit cards, Barclaycard, is halving the transfer fees it charges customers for moving expensive card debts to one of its 0% balance transfer credit cards.

As a result, Barclaycard has the UK's two best 0% deals. However, this special offer ends in one month, so you'll need to move quickly to take advantage.

Pay no interest with 0% balance transfers
Although the Bank of England's base rate has been firmly stuck at 0.5% a year since March 2009, the cost of borrowing on credit cards continues to creep up. If you spend on your plastic and don't repay your balance in full every month, then you'll pay steep rates of interest on this debt.


Right now, the average yearly interest rate charged by credit cards is over 19% APR. This means that a typical credit charge will charge interest of £190 a year on a flat balance of £1,000. This is an extremely expensive way to borrow money, especially in the long term.

This is where 0% balance transfer cards can save you a fortune. By transferring your existing card balance(s) to a 0% deal, you can avoid paying any interest on these debts for an extended period.

In fact, the longest 0% periods currently on the market lasts for 23 months, giving you nearly two years of interest-free credit.

Don't forget the fee
However, there is a catch, as all 0% balance transfers charge you a fee for moving your existing balances to them. Typically, this fee is 3% of the sum transferred, which comes to £30 for every £1,000 shifted across.

Therefore, when weighing up 0% balance transfers, you must check two things:

In short, before grabbing the latest 0% deal, be sure to check both of these features.

The best balance transfer deals
To save you the hassle of shopping around, I've already crunched the numbers for you. I've ranked these five Best Buys from best to worst:

Card	0% deal	Transfer fee	Purchase rate	Notes
Barclaycard 22Mth Platinum Visa	22 months	1.45%* Min: £7.25	17.9% APR	Transfer fee halved until 9th August. No interest on purchases for three months.
Barclaycard 21Mth Platinum Visa	21 months	1.45%* Min: £7.25	17.9% APR	Transfer fee halved until 9th August.
HSBC Visa	23 months	3.3% Min: £5	17.9% APR	The UK's longest 0% transfer. No interest on purchases for three months.
NatWest Platinum MasterCard	22 months	3.2% Min: £5	17.9% APR	No interest on purchases for six months
Halifax MasterCard	22 months	3.5%	17.9% APR	Minimum income of £20,000 a year. No interest on purchases for three months.