0% Balance Transfer & Spend

The seven golden rules

Before applying for an all-rounder card ensure you follow the seven golden rules.

• Only get one if spending AND shifting debt

  If you're mainly looking to shift existing debt, or only want a card for new spending, don't bother getting one of these. You can get longer deals with pure balance transfer cards or 0% cards for spending. But, if you need both, these cards can be a handy way to minimise the impact on your credit score – as you only need make one application to get both functions.

  Quick question

  Do these cards come close to the best buys for balance transfers and spending?

  They don't get near balance transfers – in general, all-rounder cards have high transfer fees, and max out at 27 months at 0%. Balance transfer cards can give you up to 38 months at 0%.

  Yet, for 0% spending, the best of these cards is just a few months off the longest 0% spending period on the market. However, if you only need a 0% spending card, many offer points or other perks for using them. See 0% spending cards for more.

• Beware of 'asymmetric deals' – where there's a longer 0% period on balance transfers than purchases

  Sometimes a 0% spending period is different from the 0% balance transfer period – so do watch out for this. For example, an all-rounder card could offer 20 months 0% on balance transfers and only 15 months 0% on purchases. In this example, after 16 months of holding the card you'd still be within the 0% interest-free period on existing debt but any further spending will immediately incur interest.

  Even if this is the case, it's not as bad as it used to be, as your credit card provider now has to put repayments towards the most expensive debt first. So, even if your purchase deal does run out before your balance transfer deal, any repayments you make will go towards paying off your remaining, interest-attracting purchases balance first – helping to clear that.

• Ensure your borrowing stays free. Clear debt or shift again before the 0% or cheap rate ends, otherwise costs rocket

  Cheap all-rounder cards are designed to make lenders money when you fail to pay them off. At that point, the interest rate jumps massively, to a standard 15%-20% APR.

  Your aim should always be to clear the amount you transferred during the cheap period, minimising interest. If that's not possible, your next best bet is to shift again before the intro deal ends – or even back to the original card you shifted the debt from, if that's cheaper than the go-to rate on the all-rounder card.

• Repay AT LEAST the set monthly minimum (preferably more) or you may lose the cheap rate

  Set up a direct debit for at least the minimum repayment as soon as you're accepted. Even though it's at 0%, or a low rate, you still need to make repayments. If you miss one, you'll lose your cheap deal – the rate will jump to the APR and you'll get a £12 charge.

  Quick question

  How much should I aim to pay?

  Your aim should be to pay more than the minimum – unless you've pricey debts elsewhere, in which case focus max repayments on them. Minimum payments are designed to make debts last as long as possible, which you should try to avoid – see tips to beat this in Danger: Minimum Repayments.

• Use our eligibility calculator before applying for a speedy check of which cards you're most likely to get – and protect your credit score

  Usually, the only way to know if you'll be accepted is to apply, but each application marks your credit file. But our all-rounder cards eligibility calculator quickly shows your odds of getting almost every top all-rounder card so you can find the ones most likely to accept you, thus minimising applications.

  Quick questions

  How does the eligibility calculator work?

  It uses a 'soft search', which is one you will see on your credit file but lenders usually don't (and where they do they can't use the info), to give us an indication of your credit score. We then match this against lenders' criteria for acceptance so we can show you the odds of getting each card.

  Once you have this knowledge, it will allow you to make a smarter application. Say you have a much better chance of getting a card that's just one month shorter at 0%, you may want to go for that. Therefore, you're less likely to be rejected and less likely to need to apply elsewhere, which would add another mark on your credit file.

  Will credit scoring affect the deal I get and my credit limit?

  When you apply for any credit card, it checks you to match you up against its wish list for what is a profitable customer (for full info on this and how to boost your chances, see our credit scoring guide). Yet this doesn't just dictate what products you'll be accepted for, but also how good the ones you actually get are. With balance transfer & spending cards, it has three main impacts:

  • Some cards vary the 0% length according to credit score. With some, but not all cards, while you might be accepted you may not get the 0% length advertised, eg, you might get 20 months instead of 26. We note in our 'need-to-knows' for each card which cards this may happen with.

  • They always give a variable APR depending on credit score. Every credit card APR (the annual interest rate your card jumps to after the promotional period) is a 'representative' rate. This term 'representative' is defined in the rules as meaning they only need to give the advertised rate to 51% of accepted applicants, the rest can be, and sometimes are, charged more.

    Having said that, the aim is to clear the card or shift the debt before the 0% deal ends, so if you clear it in time, this is less of an issue as you'll never be charged the APR.

  • Lower credit scores tend to mean you get a smaller credit limit. If this happens, don't automatically jump to get another card instead, at least use what they've given you. See the Credit Limit Too Low? guide.

  Unfortunately there's no system that can predict card firms' attitudes to you for these variables. But, as a rough rule of thumb, the higher the chance the eligibility calculator gives you, the closer to the rep APR and higher credit limit you should get.

• Or join our Credit Club for a full credit health check, including free your Experian Credit Report, Affordability Score and Credit Hit Rate

  The new MSE Credit Club is a game-changer. For years the credit market has been shrouded in mystery but our revolutionary tool brings together the key components to give you the full picture, and crucially, what it means for your acceptance chances and how to boost your creditworthiness.

  A credit score alone isn't enough to borrow, as there are other factors at play (it's why many with perfect scores still get rejected). Credit Club shows you...

  1. Free Experian Credit Report – your credit accounts and how you've managed them.
  2. Free Experian Credit Score – how lenders rate your past credit behaviour.
  3. MSE Affordability Score – how lenders assess if you can afford a product.
  4. Your Credit Hit Rate – how likely you actually are to be accepted when you apply.
  5. Credit Card & Loan Eligibility Calcs – what your odds are of getting specific top deals.
  6. How to improve your credit profile – we show where your profile's strong and weak, and how to improve it.

• Understand 'up to' deals mean you might not get the headline deal you apply for

  There's a catch to watch out for. Some card firms give those with lesser credit histories fewer months at 0% than they advertise. You could, for example, apply for a 20-month 0% all-rounder card, be accepted, but be given 16 months at 0% – sometimes with a higher fee too.

  We highlight cards that do this by putting 'up to' before their headline offer, and tell you the other 0% lengths they may offer in the write-ups of the products below.

  Quick questions

  Is there any way to know what deal I'll get before I apply?

  Sadly, the only way to know what 0% deal you'll get is to actually apply for it (unless it's MBNA, Virgin or Barclaycard, and our eligibility calculator shows you're pre-approved, in which case you'll get the 0% deal advertised).

  For other cards, it seems anecdotally that the higher you score in our eligibility calculator (which doesn't affect your credit score), the more chance you have of getting the headline 0% – though this isn't a hard and fast rule.

  Why do lenders give some applicants worse deals?

  Lenders tell us they do this based on risk. So if you've a credit score that only just meets a card provider's minimum criteria, it's likely you'll be accepted for the card, but given a lower number of months at 0%, or a higher APR.