Follow this topicThe best low-fee balance transfer credit cards
A number of balance transfer cards are offering a decent period of interest-free payments, with only a minimal transfer fee to pay.
When looking for a good balance transfer credit card it's important to strike a balance between the length of the interest-free period on offer and the size of the balance transfer fee. After all, you don’t want to pay over the odds to take control of your debt, but you also don’t want to run out of time to pay it off before interest starts being charged.
It’s a tough balancing act, particularly as providers do not follow logical rules when creating these products. Paying a higher fee doesn’t automatically mean you get the best interest-free period and vice versa.
Cheapest 0% balance transfers cards
Here are the best cards around at the moment that offer balance transfer fees at 2.50% or under on 0% balance transfers. The table is ordered by the cheapest cards, in terms of balance transfer fee, and then length of interest-free period.
|
Balance transfer card |
Balance transfer fee |
0% period on balance transfers |
0% period on new purchases |
Fee paid on £2,000 balance transfer |
Fee paid on £4,000 balance transfer |
Fee paid on £6,000 balance transfer |
|
Tesco Bank Clubcard Credit Card with No Balance Transfer Fee |
0% | 12 months | 12 months | £0 | £0 | £0 |
|
1.00% |
15 months |
15 months |
£20.00 |
£40.00 |
£60.00 |
|
| Lloyds TSB Online Platinum | 1.00% | 15 months | 3 months | £20.00 | £40.00 | £60.00 |
|
1.00% |
13 months |
6 months |
£20.00 |
£40.00 |
£60.00 |
|
|
Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum Low Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card |
1.00% |
13 months |
6 months |
£20.00 |
£40.00 |
£60.00 |
|
1.28% |
16 months |
3 months |
£25.60 |
£51.20 |
£76.80 |
|
|
Lloyds TSB Online Platinum 21-Month Balance Transfer MasterCard |
1.50% |
21 months |
3 months |
£30.00 |
£60.00 |
£90.00 |
| Fluid Card | 1.50% | 15 months | 5 months | £30.00 | £60.00 | £90.00 |
|
1.99% |
18 months |
8 months |
£39.80 |
£79.60 |
£119.40 |
There are currently four cards offering the chance to transfer your debts for just a 1% fee. Of these, both the Halifax All In One Online MasterCard and Lloyds TSB Platinum offer 15 months at 0% interest, two months longer than the NatWest Platinum and the Royal Bank of Scotland Platinum.
If you need a bit longer then the Lloyds TSB Online Platinum may be a good bet, offering 21 months of 0% interest for a fee of just 1.5%.
If you think you'll need even longer, there are 0% balance transfer credit cards offering up to 27 months interest free, but they come with higher balance transfer fees. You can read more about these in The best 0% balance transfer credit cards.
It's worth pointing out that you'll need to have a good credit rating to qualify for most of these cards.
If you think your credit rating is a bit blemished, for example you've missed a payment or two in the past, you might want to try for the Fluid card. This allows you to pre-check your eligibility without it being recorded on your credit report.
If you keep being turned down, don't carry on applying, as you'll hurt your credit rating. Instead, try to make some cutbacks if you can and pay off more of your debts. Make sure you keep up your repayments and your credit rating will, in time, improve.
If you're in serious trouble, seek free, independent help from a debt charity. You can find out more about these in Where to get free debt advice.
Low-rate alternatives
If you don't think you can keep up on moving your debt around then a lifetime low-rate balance transfer credit card might suit you better.
Instead of remaining interest free for a certain amount of time, these credit cards have a low APR applied to the balance from the start of the transfer that lasts as long as you take to pay it off. Some of the best cards in this category don’t charge a transfer fee and those that do keep it very low.
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