This credit card giant is offering 0% interest free for a massive 15 months!  Now this could get a lot of people out of a lot of trouble.  I’ve been there before with a huge balance and no chance of ever being able to chip into it because the interest payments are crippling me.  Well Barclaycard offer you 15 months to get that balance down a little and make things a little more acheivable.  Of course, you’re better trying to pay it all off if you can; there is nothing that credit reference agencies like more than people who can pay off their balances but also like to take out credit too.

There is another added bonus to Barclaycard’s great 0% interest deal but it’s one that requires a little though and a lot willpower.  I almost don’t want to mention it in this post through fear of attracting the wrong kind of people to the deal, but i am obliged to tell you all.  Barclaycard have offset this 0% balance transfer deal with 3 months of 0% interest on your purchases too.  Now don’t get carried away, you said you wanted to clear your balance and there’s no chance of it like that is there?

Just like every other type of credit card feature, this lifetime balance transfer deal is also subject to several different companies who offer different rates and different rewards.  It’s up to us, here at credit card comparison, to help you make an informed decision on the credit cards that feature the most predominantly.

MBNA have a credit card that will offer you 6.7% interest on the lifetime of your balance transfer.  It is very important to verify this here and now because many people get the impression that this interest rate will be the same on your entire balance with MBNA; it won’t.  This is only for your balance transfer.  So let’s just say you’ve transferred a balance of £2000 and then you spend a further £1000 on the credit card.  The £2000 balance you transfered will be subject to the 6.7% interest and not the extra £1000 you spent on top of that.

MBNA offer a good credit card here if you’re not silly enough to spend a load more on it.  And it works out the very best way to shift a debt if you can pay it off in at least 4 years.

So basically when you have a balance of more than you can handle, all you do is apply for another credit card and transfer the balance.  You don’t really have to do anything except write your credit card balance on the application for the new credit card, and if you you’re successful then you’ll end up with a credit card bill completely paid off, leaving you free to close the account if you want, and also a new credit card with a 0% interest on it.

The 0% interest thing is very important of course, and the most important thing about it is the length of time the credit card is prepared to allow you to have your balance transfer for 0% interest.  The time periods vary, but most of them these days are offering around 12-15 months interest free; which is pretty damn good by anyone’s standards if you ask us, and more than enough time for you to make a good attempt at paying off that balance.

This is an excellent way to get money for nothing folks.  If you’re wise and you take out cashback credit cards with 0% interest on balance transfers then you can spend up to your limit and then transfer your balance; thus paying no interest.  You have got the cashback and then you have time to pay off the bill.  You could also transfer again, but watch out for the cards that charge you for transfers.

Believe me folks, the days of loyalty to your credit card are gone; hell, the days of loyalty to anything are long gone aren’t they?  I know a guy who has worked his entire life for a local council just get a handshake and a damn carriage clock after 40 years service!  If you can’t beat them join them, and start with your finances.

There are bonuses to doing this too.  Not only do you get a credit card that performs better for you, but you also get to pay 0% interest for a while if you choose the right credit card.  Now this has to be a bonus; especially if you were managing the interest payments quite nicely anyway, it will give you a little breathing space and maybe afford you a night out or something.

Most credit cards offer you around 6 months interest free on your balance transfers, but there are some who offer much more than this, and also 0% interest on your purchases too.  You should always look out for this however, because you could end up with a balance that has interest payments you can’t make once they start charging you.

Well Egg came about in the late 1990s as one of those fashionable, friendly style, financial institutions.  These days they still try to be cool, but they’re just not at the same level as credit card providers like Virgin for example.  Their offers aren’t too bad though, and that’s why i’ve decided to give them a little review.

Their main strategy at the moment seems to be getting people to trust credit again, and make it appear as though it doesn’t cost you much.  This is ok if you can afford to pay in the long run, but if you’re attracted by this because you don’t think you can pay the interest on a credit card then you seriously need to avoid Egg.  They offer a fantasitc 0% interest on balance transfers until 1st April 2011.  Now that is really something, and to top it off they are also offering 0% interest on your purchases until 1st May 2010.  Remember though folks, May isn’t that far away, and it will soon creep up on you.

Egg Credit Card has interest rates that pretty much compare with everyone else these days at 16.9%, and they also offer their pretty unique Egg money manager tool online.  This tool allows you to manage all your accounts, not just Egg, in one place. This is so unique because it isn’t particularly useful in my opinion.

Overall if you want low interest rates on balance transfers choose Egg, otherwise there are many others to go for.

Virgin offer a variety of different features and their overall 16.6% interest rate seems about normal in today’s financial climate.  However they do offer a 0% interest rate on balance transfers for a massive 16 months.  This is quite a long time to start rebuilding your credit problems and to stop paying all that interest you were paying on your other credit cards (that is as long as you don’t spend a load more on your Virgin card, which is what they want you to do remember).

There is no annual fee with the Virgin Credit Card either, and when you sign up you get 50 days interest free on all your initial purchases.  This might actually be something to watch out for if you have chosen Virgin because of it’s good deal on balance transfers.  If you get attracted by the 50 days interest free and go nuts you could always end up in as much bother as you were with your previous credit card; especially when they add the interest on eventually!

You get all the other features with the Virgin Credit Card in much the same way as you do with all the other leading brands, like a discount scheme, free purchase protection and free travel accident insurance.

So all in all the Virgin Credit Card is a good choice if you can be sensible with your money.

It couldn’t be simpler could it?  Wrong!  There are way too many credit cards out there today, so we can only really look at a few.  Let’s start with the Virgin credit card.  Virgin are leading the way in so many areas of business and development these days there is little wonder that they’ve managed to corner the market on credit cards too.  They boast the UKs number one balance transfer credit card, offering their 0% for a massive 16 months!  So this must be worth transferring to them mustn’t it?  There are travel, insurance and wine rewards available on this card, and they also offer 3 months interest free on all purchases too!  They really don’t come much better than this do they?

However there are a few pitfalls to look out for here, and one of them is the last point i made as a pro.  3 months interest free on purchases is good if you have the money to pay the card company back all you owe them before this time is expired, but if you struggle alittle with money then you might want to think again about taking the risk of spending too much money!