Credit card giants go to war over balance transfers

Credit card companies are caught in a head-to-head battle to try to bring out the longest 0% balance transfer period.

Halifax has now extended its 0% balance transfer period from 20 months — which for a short time was the longest period on offer on the market — to 22 months on its Balance Transfer credit card, narrowly beating the 21-month offer Barclaycard brought out last Friday.

However, Barclaycard quickly matched Halifax and extended this to 22 months with its Barclaycard Platinum card.

As an extra sweetener, if you apply directly through the Barclaycard site you will get a £20 refund.

Although both cards offer the same time frame for the 0% balance transfer, the deal from Halifax comes with a hefty fee of 3.5%, while Barclaycard has managed to keep fees at 2.9%.

Meanwhile, Barclaycard has withdrawn its 24-month 0% balance transfer period card, which saw 30,000 applications since launch, the equivalent of one every minute — and replaced it with the shorter deal.

[Useful: Compare 0% balance transfer cards]

Other deals

Just behind Barclaycard and Halifax is Virgin, with its 19-month 0% balance transfer period and 2.49% fee.

The length of time 0% balance transfer periods last has doubled in the past five years, according to Defaqto, but these deals are usually restricted to new customers.

David Black, spokesperson for Defaqto, says: "The credit card market abounds with some very attractive offers but it remains the case that the best deals are aimed at new customers. Therefore, those with good credit ratings have a real incentive to change their credit card on a regular basis and should ensure that they choose a card that matches their likely usage."

Balance transfers explained

Q: What is a balance transfer?

A: A balance transfer means you effectively switch the debt from a card with a high interest rate to a card with a 0% balance transfer and while the balance transfer period exists you won't be paying any interest on the debt.

Q: How do I qualify for one?

A: The best deals are for new customers and especially those with a good credit rating. Many card providers will automatically reject you if you already have one of its products, or if you have done in the past 12 to 18 months.

Q: What are the costs involved?

A: You will have to pay a fee of about 3% and some providers have a minimum amount you must transfer. When choosing a card, first work out if the balance transfer fee is worth paying in relation to the amount of debt you have.

Q: What should I watch out for?

A: When the introductory period ends you may be hit with higher than average interest rates. At this point, it may be worth moving the debt over to another card with a balance transfer period (if you are eligible) or if you've cleared the debt changing to another card altogether with a lower interest rate.

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Is it cheaper to eat junk?

£1 for a frozen pizza, oven chips for £1.25, 15 garlic slices for £1.35… These prices at a well-known frozen food retailer explain why lots of Britons think junk food is cheaper than healthy options.

As students get ready to go back to uni, I've had an undergraduate cousin to stay and he's been eloquently defending the number of pizzas he eats.

"There are four of us in my student flat and none of us spend more than £10 on main meals every week. On top of that, we're always full and our meals all taste good," he explained.

"Face it; it's just cheaper to eat crap."

The cheaper, healthier challenge

What if I could suggest meals that cost the same but were healthier and more varied, I asked. He looked unconvinced.

"It has to be cheap," he said, "but it also has to be easy to cook and taste good too. I know it sounds a bit lame, but I'm really busy. I don't want to waste hours in the kitchen every night soaking lentils and mashing potatoes."

What about a big batch of lasagne or soup and then freezing portions? Apparently communal freezers make that a bit of a nightmare.

So I asked him to tell me his typical menu for three nights. My challenge was to match it with easy, healthy alternatives that take no more time to prepare and cost less.

Three nights of low-cost junk

Night one: Four cheese pizza - £2

Night two: Frozen Chicken Tikka Masala - £1.50

Night three: Cheesy Beans & Sausage - £1

Yes, you read that right. You can apparently buy a frozen dish of cheese, beans, sausages and potatoes, all mixed up together, ready for the microwave. I didn't eat particularly well when I was a student, but this is convenience food gone bad.

Three alternative suppers

If my cousin agreed to eat with his flatmates each evening, then they could all spend the same amount but have a more varied diet.

To serve four people the above meals for three nights would cost £18, so what alternatives can I suggest with that budget?

Night one: Vegetable stir-fry and noodles - 96p a head

We had this one for supper while he visited. My regular supermarket has a very student friendly offer of three stir-fry items for £2.50. We picked up fresh noodles, a bag of vegetables and a bag of spring greens, then spent £1.36 on a jar of black bean sauce.

Total cost £3.86 and just six minutes to cook — that's even less than the pizza would take.

The 96p stir-fry

Night two: Chilli, prawn and broccoli spaghetti - £1.63 a head

As easy to assemble as the stir-fry, this is a two-pan dish. The spaghetti can be prepared using one saucepan and a wok. Boil the spaghetti, steaming the broccoli above it. Then everything can be stir-fried together in the wok and it's done.

A 500g pack of dried spaghetti is just 41p, 2 broccoli heads for £1.50, 300g of cooked and peeled prawns for £2.14. Season with chili flakes for £2.49 (which they won't use up on one dish). So, £6.54 in total, that's £1.63 a head.

Night three: Sausage omelette - £1.73 a head

Apparently cheesy beans and sausage is very tasty and perfect revision food, so I thought he needed something similar. A sausage omelette allows the flatmates to buy their ingredients together but cook at different times if they need to, and it's really simple to prepare.

His nearest supermarket sells a box of 12 large, free-range eggs for £2.88, making each flatmate a three-egg omelette each. It also sells 12 high welfare Cumberland sausages for £2. Add a couple of onions (21p each) and three peppers (£1.65) and the total cost is £6.95, that's £1.73 a head.

In total, that's cost £17.35, less than the junk food menu.

That's an average cost per person per meal of £1.44. What's more, the meals were tasty, easy and the person cooking them is able to regulate the salt, sugar and other ingredients.

Cheap and easy

So it's not impossible to eat reasonably healthily for the same price as the ready meals my cousin's been surviving on as he studies.

However, in order to afford easy, healthier meals that come in at the right price, he'll need to persuade his flatmates to eat with him.

This will let them share the cooking and, if each student is only cooking twice a week at the most, they might be willing to spend time preparing more advanced meals. It might even get competitive.

While many people sing the praises of proper, home-cooked food made from scratch, it's undeniable that a large section of society is unable or unwilling to spend the time needed.

But there are healthier options that are as cheap and quick as a frozen pizza, as one flat full of teenagers hopefully now knows.

If you have a money-saving scheme you'd like to see tried out then let us know in the comment box below.

The 2 top 0% balance transfer credit cards

	Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card Mastercard	Barclaycard Extended Balance Transfer Visa
Introductory Balance Transfer Period	0% for 22 months	0% for 22 months
Balance Transfer Fee	3.50% (min £3.00)	2.90% (min £7.25)
APR	17.9%	17.5%
Representative Example	Based on a credit limit of £1,200 charged at 17.9% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 17.9% APR variable.	Based on a credit limit of £1,200 charged at 17.5% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 17.5% APR variable.

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Help! My work history isn't UK-based

Help! My work history isn't UK-based

I can't get a job because my work history is from outside the UK

I have been in London now for one year. I was lucky enough to obtain a part-time job when I arrived that allowed me the opportunity to get settled.

That has now finished and I have been looking for a job in the industry that I have succeeded in for over 15 years. I have held many levels of position, run successful departments and I am a loyal, committed, hard worker.

I am a dedicated, organised multi-tasker, have a degree, speak languages, and have great technical skills – you name it, I have the experience.

My problem is no one wants to hire me because I have never worked in the UK. I have worked with two recruitment agencies (a joke because of their level of service and lack of support) and every time I find a job on their site they say I'm not qualified simply because I have never worked here.

Everyone I know tells me not to get desperate, that I am good at what I do and times are tough, but it is getting very trying when I can't even get the individuals who are qualified and connected to assist me. How am I ever going to gain UK experience if no one is prepared to provide an opportunity? I am willing to take an entry role at lower pay as I know I need to start at the beginning again and I am not afraid to do so, but I have not even been considered for that either. Every day I apply for three to six jobs online. I am frustrated at where I am at.

Pete says:

I wish I knew two things: the nature of the industry in which you've clocked up 15 years of successful experience; and which country you were in while you were doing so. On the face of it, it does seem very odd that no potential employer in the UK seems to think your previous experience and qualifications count for anything in this country.

Are conditions so different? Does this objection make any sort of sense to you? If not, have you tried to counter it upfront in your many applications?

There's always the possibility, of course, that employers are using your lack of local experience as a convenient and seemingly objective reason for turning you down when their real reasons may be altogether different.

More positively (and improbable as it may seem to you) I suggest you try to turn this apparent obstacle into a small but potentially important advantage. Somewhere in your favoured industry I assume there must be at least one British-based company that has some dealings with the country you previously worked in. Meticulous research should enable you to identify it – or, possibly, even them. Don't wait for any such opening to show up on a recruitment agency site; you need to take the initiative yourself – as you've already done with some relative success.

Put yourself in the shoes of such a company and present your background as a positive attraction. Show how your knowledge of this other market could be of particular value to them. With any luck, you'll find that a few thoughtful and well-targeted applications prove more successful than your blanket approach.

Readers say:

• I have always gained employment by approaching the companies that I would like to work for. On three occasions roles have actually been created for me when none were advertised. Employers like to see a proactive approach. Skip the employment agencies. MrsDaisyP

• Use your unique cultural perspective to market yourself. Whatever country you come from, there will be someone who wants to know how to do business in that country. Try trade associations, chambers of commerce and see if you can't sell your services as a consultant. Don't work for nothing though. You have too much going for you, and that also sets the tone and makes employers expect other people to do it. horizon10

• So much of getting a job, regardless of qualifications, is not what but who you know. Make sure everyone you know knows you're looking for work and ask them to keep an ear out for anything that might suit you. I'm also not originally from the UK, and the best jobs I've got have been through the "hometown mafia" – people who've also moved here to work and who knew me and were happy to recommend me. Personal recommendation goes a long way, especially when the market's tight, and a lot of companies pay staff who do recommend someone and they pass probation, so it's a win-win … tarnarama

How can I find a new career without the tension of interviews?

I am 54 and currently unemployed. Over the last three years I have left two jobs due to bullying and had spells of unemployment in between. One job lasted four months and another in the civil service lasted 18 months. I had spent the last six months in the latter job desperately searching for another and then events took a turn for the worse and I resigned as life had become impossible. Prior to the last three years I had an unbroken employment record stretching back 20 years, encompassing team-leading and office management.

As you can imagine, I am feeling demoralised with what seems to be constant job hunting and frustration. I didn't pursue the bullying in either case as I was just so glad to get out. I have had interviews but I get very tense about them and feel I don't perform well. On the plus side I do voluntary work to keep busy and acquire new skills (minute-taking, PR, book reviews) and I have finally learned to touch type. I have also taken up wildlife photography and am busily upgrading my IT skills.

I've always done admin work and have key transferable skills to offer any employer but am apprehensive about encountering another repressive regime. There's also the after-effects of the bullying.

Pete says:

By the sound of it, all your 20-year work experience was with big organisations. My very strong instinct is that you should now be thinking of becoming a valued part of something very much smaller. You're obviously an intelligent and enterprising person, with multiple skills and interests. At 54, I doubt if you're looking for a great new Career with a capital C. The sort of job that would suit you best may not even be advertised anywhere.

Many small- and medium-sized businesses would find what you can offer extremely attractive: and the chances are, you'll only find out about them through personal contacts. The job may even not have a precise name. (In many such firms, they say: "Oh, Molly looks after all that.") If you involve all your friends and acquaintances, and all the people you meet doing your voluntary work, you may be surprised to find what a potentially wide network of contacts you have at your disposal. And at the end of such a search, no intimidating interviews, no repressive regimes, no hierarchies: just an opportunity to be useful and appreciated and to find your confidence again.

Readers say:

• Have you thought about temping? I quit my last job rather suddenly, and without anything to go to, but I chased a job I saw on a website which was advertised through an agency and I have been there for several months on a rolling contract, which looks like it will continue for some time yet.

My confidence was pretty low when I resigned and I was very apprehensive about working anywhere else but like you I had an unblemished work record and a fair few admin skills. I now work for a very good company and have got to know some lovely new colleagues and the job is well within my scope. I'm much happier and feel more confident now. Don't let the bullies win – good luck! besidethesea

• I think you've been pretty brave leaving jobs, even if the bullying has knocked your confidence. Keep that in mind: a lot of people stick at a job and put up with the crap because it offers security, but it's a hell of a price to pay. Again, ask people you know if they can keep an eye out for potential jobs for you. If you have 20 years' experience, then surely there are ex-colleagues who've moved on elsewhere and would recommend you? tarnarama

• I have been in this situation and would recommend counselling. It wasn't until 18 months after I had left that I realised it had affected me more than I had realised.

I was becoming scared of getting back to work [and] I signed up for some counselling with a local voluntary organisation provider. The counsellor I worked with was trained in transactional analysis – she was great, we really focused on what the issue was … which helped me get my confidence back. And taught me how to handle some situations in a different way in the future. I only attended for seven weeks – I felt that was enough – and it definitely helped. runningwild

• Don't mention your history of being bullied when you go for interviews. The old expression "no smoke without fire" could be applied here – and there will be many who will assume the problem is with you. So don't let them. ExBrightonBelle

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Battle of the 22 month 0% balance transfer cards!

Category: Credit cards
Date: 23/08/2011

It's difficult to keep up with everything that's happening in the 0% balance transfer market. Competition is fierce!

Recently Barclaycard released the longest ever 0% balance transfer card – for 24 months. It was an aggressive move and although no-one's offering 0% for 24 months at the moment, there are two cards offering 0% for 22 months.

Twenty-two months, to put it another way, is the second longest 0% balance transfer deal ever offered.

The 2 top 0% balance transfer credit cards

	Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card Mastercard	Barclaycard Extended Balance Transfer Visa
Introductory Balance Transfer Period	0% for 22 months	0% for 22 months
Balance Transfer Fee	3.50% (min £3.00)	2.90% (min £7.25)
APR	17.9%	17.5%
Representative Example	Based on a credit limit of £1,200 charged at 17.9% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 17.9% APR variable.	Based on a credit limit of £1,200 charged at 17.5% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 17.5% APR variable.

Halifax and Barclaycard are battling it out to be the top card. Although neither would win a catchy name competition, Barclaycard just has the edge over Halifax. That's because:

• Barclaycard offers a lower balance transfer fee
• Barclaycard offers a lower Representative APR
• Halifax is limiting its balance transfer deal to balance transfers of up to £3,000, while Barclaycard imposes no limit (other than the credit limit it offers you)

Although the Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card is a little more expensive to transfer a balance to, it might be suitable for you if you need to transfer credit card balances away from Barclaycard. This is because you can't transfer balances you already have with a particular credit card provider, to a new promotional rate with that same provider.

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One week left for longest 0% Card

One week left to get 24-month interest-free credit card

If you want to get your hands on the best balance transfer card ever, you re running out of time.

The credit card offering the longest ever 0% period on balance transfers is set to be withdrawn on Friday 12 August.

The Barclaycard Platinum - which only launched last month - sits clearly ahead of the competition in the balance transfer card market, offering an unbelievable 24 months of 0% interest on any debt transferred onto the card. It even has a very competitive transfer fee of 2.8% of the balance transferred.

No other balance transfer card has ever offered such a mammoth interest-free period, so it should be no surprise that Barclaycard has received sufficient applications that they are set to withdraw the card much earlier than usual.

[Useful: More on the Barclaycard Platinum 24-month 0% deal]

Making use of a balance transfer card

Balance transfer cards are designed to help you pay off debt which you have accrued on an existing credit card.

The cards offer a set period where you will not be charged any interest on the debt you move onto the card, allowing you to pay off that debt in manageable chunks, safe in the knowledge that every penny of your repayments is going towards the debt, rather than added interest charges.

However, you will be charged a percentage of the debt as a transfer fee when you move the debt onto the balance transfer card. So obviously, the larger the debt you transfer, the more expensive the fee will be.

Clearly, if you want to take advantage of the amazing Barclaycard offer, you'll need to get a move on and apply today.

However, the good news is that even if you don't manage to get the Platinum, there are still plenty of excellent balance transfer cards to choose from.

The best of the rest

Below are the top 3 balance transfer cards once you look beyond the Barclaycard:


Halifax balance transfer MasterCard
Royal Bank of Scotland
Capital One

Bearing in mind that last November 16 month offers were the best you can find, it's clear that borrowers currently have an amazing range of deals to choose from.

Let's say you have £2,000 of debt to clear. With the Halifax card, and with the fee added on top, you'll only need to pay £103 a month in order to clear the debt before you'll start having to pay interest. Indeed, even with the Creation card, your monthly repayments will work out at just £121.06 a month!

[Useful: Check out the top 0% balance transfer credit cards]

If you need a little longer

But what if your debt is more significant? Or if £120 every single month is a bit beyond your budget?

Borrowers in this position have a couple of options. They can simply go with one of the cards above, and pay off as much as they can within the 0% interest period, before then moving the remaining debt onto another balance transfer card.

This involves a fair bit of hassle, as you have to shell out on a balance transfer fee more than once, and have to spend time shopping around and applying for the second card.

You also have to be aware of which cards will even accept your transfer — you can't move debt between cards offered by separate brands of a single provider. So for example, you can't move debt from a NatWest card to an RBS one, or from a Virgin card to an MDNA one.

A better, and far simpler, option may be to make use of a low APR card. As the name suggests, you will have to pay interest on the debt you move on to the card, however, that rate of interest is far smaller than what you will pay on a normal balance transfer card after the 0% period finishes.

A great example of a low APR card is the Barclaycard Simplicity, which charges just 7.9% APR on your debt. What's more, there is no transfer fee to pay. You can secure an even lower rate with the MBNA Rate for Life — just 5.9% for the life of the balance transfer. However, you will have to shell out a 2% fee.

More from Fasano.co.uk.

The top ten 0% credit card deals

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