UK credit cards and balance transfers
Credit cards are quite popular and widely used in the UK. Most stores and other merchants accept credit cards in their shops/outlets. Like the United States, credit cards in the UK are offered by a variety of banks and financial institutions. Similarly, credit cards in the UK offer a number of benefits that vary from one UK credit card to another (although there are many common benefits that are the same across different UK credit cards).
Due to the fierce competition in the UK credit card market, various UK credit card providers also offer attractive balance transfer programs. There are some UK credit cards that offer 0% balance transfers for 9 months, and others that offer 0% for 6 months. However, the problem here is that these UK credit card providers have different standard APRs, i.e. the APR that takes effect after the expiry of the introductory 0% balance transfer offer. In addition, there are some UK credit cards that do not offer 0% balance transfers, but instead offer a better standard interest rate (APR) throughout. Some UK credit card providers combine the 0% offer with points in their rewards programs. Another popular thing among UK credit cards is to combine cash back offers with balance transfers. There are also some very attractive offers that offer 0% not only on balance transfers, but also on purchases (for a short period of time like 5 months or so). You also have some UK credit cards that can be purchased by people with a bad credit history (of course, the decision to approve such a credit card application is up to the credit card provider).
So, what does a person do if they want to transfer their balance to another UK credit card? Well, it’s quite simple. You need to assess your current financial situation and determine if 6 or 9 months (or even 12 months) is enough time for you to fully pay off the amount you owe on your UK credit card. If the answer is yes, go ahead and apply for a UK credit card that offers 0% balance transfer during that time (even if the standard APR is slightly higher). However, the assumption here is that once you pay off your UK credit card debt, you will stick to controlled spending and pay your credit card bill in full by the payment due date; otherwise, opting for a higher standard APR will hit you hard and you will be in deeper trouble. However, if you think 9 months is not enough time to pay off your UK credit card debt, then you should seek a balance between the zero APR period and the standard APR and choose the UK credit card that results in the least total spending (you will need to sit in front of a calculator and calculate the total spending for the various UK credit card offers).
This is the most essential aspect to consider before deciding which UK credit card is best for transferring your money. Other things such as 0% spend, points for rewards programmers, etc. are secondary.