Three new longer-term 0% credit cards with low fees

Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Virgin all issue 32-month 0% cards with fees under 2%.

Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money have all launched 0% credit cards offering 32 months interest free on balance transfers with very low fees.

The Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland cards charge 1.69% of the debt you want to transfer, while Virgin Money's has a 1.75% fee.

These are part of a growing trend of increasingly lower fees on longer-term 0% balance transfer cards.

Let’s how have a look at what the cards offer in more detail and how they compare.

New 32-month cards

The Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland cards both charge an initial fee of 3% of the balance you’re transferring, of which 1.31% is then refunded so long as you made your balance transfer within 90 days of opening your card account.

The Virgin card, meanwhile, has a flat 1.75% balance transfer fee. It also offers a 32-month interest-free period on money transfers, where you transfer money into your current account, with a fee of 4% of the amount you want to transfer.

All three cards offer a six-month 0% period on purchases, although if you’re using one to pay off debt from other credit cards you should really steer clear of spending on it too.

They also have the same representative APR (the annual combination of interest and charges if you don’t pay off your balance in full each month) of 18.9%.

[Related story: Best credit cards to use on holidays abroad]

How they compare

You can get balance transfer cards offering interest-free periods of 36 months from Barclaycard (2.39% fee), Halifax (2.49% fee), Virgin Money (2.5% fee), MBNA (2.99% fee), Lloyds Bank (3% fee) and Bank of Scotland (3% fee).

However, if you can pay off your debt four months quicker you could save some money on your fee, depending on how much debt you have to shift.

For example, if you have £2,000 to pay off, you would pay a fee of £47.80 on the Barclaycard 36-month card but only £33.80 if you opt for the Lloyds or Bank of Scotland 32-month cards.

But choosing the lowest fee and a shorter 0% period only makes sense if you can pay off your debt before the interest-free period ends and you get charged interest.

If you think you could pay off your debts in even less time, it’s worth pointing out that you could pay an even smaller balance transfer fee, or none at all if you can pay it off in 18 months.

Here are the 0% cards with the top combinations of balance transfer period and fee.

*£24 annual fee

Things to remember

All of the above cards are only open to people with a good credit rating.

Again, you should make sure you can pay off your debt before the end of the 0% period to avoid being charged interest. And you must make sure you make at least the minimum repayment each month or you will lose your 0% deal and get a black mark on your credit rating.

Compare 0% credit cards