Credit Card News

With just five weeks until Christmas Day and the shops already full of Black Friday deals, time is running out to get all the Christmas shopping done. For consumers who are wondering how they will be able to afford all the Christmas costs, it is fortunately not too late to take advantage of a competitive 0% purchase credit card deal.

Here we’ve taken a look at some of the best 0% deals currently available in our charts.

More mortgage completions were made by first-time buyers than homemovers during September 2019, data released by UK Finance reveals.

The data shows that there were 29,100 new first-time buyer mortgage completions in September 2019 compared to 29,050 homemover mortgages completed, which were increases of 1.6% and 1.8% respectively compared to the same month the previous year.

While there was just a small difference between first-time buyer and homemover mortgage completions, historically homemovers mortgages outnumbered first-time buyers. In fact, research carried out by Moneyfacts.co.uk – using UK Finance data – found that in August there were 35,380 homemover residential mortgages compared to 35,010 first-time buyers, a difference of 370; whereas five years ago, in 2015, there were 33,800 homemover residential mortgages compared to just 26,800 first-time buyers – a difference of 7,000.

The reason for the growth in first-time buyers could be due to a combination of factors. The current stagnation of the housing market, particularly in the south-east of England, will have helped to make getting onto the housing ladder more affordable for first-time buyers. In addition to this, new buyers have also benefited from a number of Government schemes aimed at first-time buyers, such as the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. As well as this, competition between mortgage lenders has been particularly fierce this year, with first-time buyers benefiting from competitively low rates.

With Christmas adverts already on TV and just over two weeks until Black Friday, the festive shopping season has already begun, however consumers are being warned that if they use credit cards to pay for their Christmas shopping they will have less time to pay off debts before being charged interest compared to a year ago.

Data from Moneyfacts.co.uk has found that consumers can currently find deals offering up to 26 months interest-free on purchases, however a year ago the top 0% offer on purchases was three months longer, at 29 months from Sainsbury’s Bank. As a result, those using credit cards this year need to pay off the outstanding balance three months quicker than a year ago.

Top introductory interest-free purchase credit card offers 

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “Credit cards remain not just a convenient way to spend for the everyday consumer, but they also offer protection in the event of a dispute with a purchase of goods or services. In addition, consumers can give themselves more time to repay goods if they apply for an interest-free offer. As Black Friday looms, this week may be a popular time to apply for one such offer.

“The Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales offer significant savings on high-end goods, such as electronics. If consumers have little savings or means to buy high-cost items, then a credit card could be a good alternative, but it is important that they work out a realistic repayment plan so they don’t regret the purchase later down the line.

“Shoppers may not necessarily use these sales to buy others gifts for Christmas, in fact, according to PwC, only 20% of consumers buy most of their presents over this period. Therefore, shoppers could still use the plastic again to cover the festive spend – particularly if they have some time left utilise an interest-free offer.

“As it stands, consumers will have less time to pay their debts if they acquire the longest interest-free offer right now, compared to the longest offer this time a year ago – three months less in fact. MBNA currently offers a 0% introductory purchase offer for 26 months, whereas Sainsbury’s Bank had the longest deal a year ago at 29 months.

“Making more than the minimum repayment on a credit card is important to clear debts before an interest-free offer expires. For example, shoppers would need to repay around £116 per month to pay back £3,000 over 26 months. If a borrower made a purchase of £3,000 on a card charging 20.9% APR and repaid just £100 per month, the debt will linger for over three years and it will cost them £1,114 in interest*. This demonstrates how important it is for borrowers to clear their debts faster or take advantage of an interest-free offer to spread their repayments.”

*Credit card repayment based on £3,000 purchase, based on an interest rate of 20.9% APR, minimum fixed repayment of £100 (thereafter a minimum of 1% plus monthly interest or £25, whichever is higher) and would take three years and six months to pay back, costing £1,114 in interest over this term.

Post Office Money® has partnered with Capital One UK to launch two new credit cards, which will be available in branch from 2020.  

Its black Travel Credit Card and red Classic Credit Card are already available online, but Post Office has stated that information about the cards and the benefits will not be available in branch until the new year.

From information already available, the Classic Credit Card offers consumers the potential of 0% on balance transfers for up to 18 months, with a 2.9% transfer fee, and 0% on purchases for up to 12 months. It offers rates between 19.9% and 34.9% APR representative variable and has a credit limit of up to £8,000. The Travel Credit Card has no foreign exchange fees, a credit limit of up to £6,000 and rates between 19.9% and 24.9% APR representative variable.

Chrysanthy Pispinis, director at Post Office Money, said: “I’m pleased to announce the launch of our two new Post Office credit cards in partnership with Capital One. The two new cards are designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers by featuring a combination of benefits.

“Capital One’s mission to ‘Change Banking for Good’ is a great fit with Post Office’s own aspirations in financial services, to support our customers’ changing needs and give them broader access to products and services.”