New Credit Cards With Great Balance Transfer And Purchase Periods

The release of new credit cards from Barclaycard and M&S Money with great promotional periods on 0 per cent balance transfer and purchase is good news for borrowers.

The M&S Credit Card will offer 15 months 0% on purchases.

Barclaycard is offering 0% on balance transfers for 18 months. There’s a 2.9% balance transfer fee, however, if you apply before the end of February you will also receive £20 cash back on the fee for transfers over £3,000.

Witht the release of these cards it perhaps signals a growing appetite amongst lenders to seek new customers.

As Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com comments: “We can only guess what will happen next, but you would imagine some of the other main providers will respond with similar or better deals. Cardholders will need to make sure they understand any associated BT fees on these products as they do vary.

“However, despite this renewed appetite, it would be wrong to say that banks are opening up these offers to all customers. In reality, most lenders are giving these good deals to customers who have excellent or good credit histories.

If you fall outside of this category then you may find your options are limited. Before applying for a credit card, consumers need to check their credit profile and make sure there is no adverse information that would jeopardise their chances of being accepted.”

MoneyHighStreet.com comment: Of course it may well seem attractive to take on credit cards with such long promotional balance periods, however, such cards needs to be used wisely. Failing to pay off balances by the end of the promotional period can potentially leave you with expensive debts to try and pay off, negating the value of the offers provided in the first place.