UK Credit Cards

The way to make the most of the highly competitive credit card market is to play the card companies at their own game. By offering 0% interest on their cards, companies are hoping that when the higher rate kicks in after 6 months you'll stay - until that time they lose money. So you need to become a "rate surfer"! Applying for one low interest card after the other and transferring the balance between them - so you never actually pay interest on the amount you borrow.

Interest Free Credit Cards

An interest free credit card is one that does not charge interest on any purchases or on any balance transfers for a given period of time. This interest free phase is for a specific time and limit, most companies’ offer a period of 6 months but some are now offering 9 and even 12 months. This gives the buyer a longer period for buying things without having the extra stress of extra charges. They can therefore save a lot of money on these cards.

The interest you pay on your credit card normally depends solely on how good or bad you are in your credit rating. The borrowers’ annual income and character of past payments are also of high importance. If they have had a bad credit scoring then they may be charged a higher interest in comparison to those people who have a good credit rating.

Interest free credit cards are a great idea for those people getting further and further into debt. Simply because these cards will give them the opportunity to repay all of their debts without having any more charges added onto them. They should be careful not to let these interest free credit cards get them into more debt. Within the interest free period the borrower will have to pay back their owing amount within the given period.

If the borrower has the plan to keep his card balance amount longer than the introductory rate offer, then this specific balance transfer deal may not be the most suited for them.

The most ideal solution would be to find a card that both offers a balance transfer deal as well as an ongoing low interest rate. This would be more suited especially if you cannot repay the debt within this introductory period. You should at least choose a card that gives a low preliminary rate that will last until you can repay the amount of money originally transferred.

Most credit card companies charge a fee for balance transfers. This is normally about 2% of the amount transferred. There are however a number of card deals that do not charge a transfer fee or only have a transfer fee that is realistic. A borrower should use the cards that do not charge them these fees.

An interest free credit card is very advantageous as it enables a borrower to be able to pay off their outstanding balances of to all their debts without any extra interest charges added on. This card is very helpful when the borrower is looking at buying a large purchase and wants to repay it in easy instalments. Regrettably many credit card issuers normally hide the normal APR percentage which is obviously charged when the interest free period runs out. This becomes a serious problem as the borrower will now have to pay more than that they would like to.

A few of these cards generally have high penalty charges for late payments and will automatically change you to higher variable APR rate after having just one late payment.

A single credit card is also able to have multiple APRs. These include some of the following:

An APR rate for balance transfers, An APR for purchases, and an APR for cash advances (the APR would normally be higher for any cash advances in comparison to a balance transfer or purchase), Tiered APRs – Different APR levels can be given to different account balances, An Introductory APR – 0% APR is normally the introductory offer and will change to a higher rate on expiration of the introductory term, A Penalty APR – This rate may apply if the borrower is late with their payments.

Although it may be an appealing offer to apply for a 0% APR credit card, it could not be a good choice in certain circumstances. It is advisable to calculate credit balances, interest rates, and repayment capability before applying for these cards and you must read all the terms and conditions of the cards carefully.

In order to find the best interest free credit card, the borrower should browse the market thoroughly, ensuring they look at all the varieties available and gather all the appropriate information first before applying for the credit card.

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