Credit Card Section

Sainsbury's Credit Card Is A Real Winner For Life Of Balance Transfers + 0% for 10 Months on Purchases

April 2006

One question that's always asked about the different Credit Card deals is which one is best, interest free for x number of months or a low interest rate until the debt is paid off in full. The question is easy to answer -

• 0% Interest Free deals - Only go for these if the debt will be paid off in full (or nearly full) by the time the 0% offer ends, anywhere from 6-15 months
• Life of Balance Deals - These Credit Card deals work by offering you a cheap interest rate (usually 3%-6% per annum) until the debt is paid off in full, whether that be 1 year or 5+ years.

So how much is your debt, what can you afford to pay off each month? Answer those questions and you’ll soon understand which credit card offer is right for your financial circumstances.

Sainsbury's Is Offers A Great CC Deal - 10 month 0% On Purchases or 5.94% Life of Balance Transfer

Sainsbury’s has launched one of the best Credit Card deals around and it has 2 real attractions -

1. 10 months 0% interest on purchases
2. 5.94% life of balance transfer with no charge to transfer balances in (most cards charge 2% for this, so it's a really nice touch by Sainsbury's)

Be aware however that the card might have some sneaky small print which could mean that if you used the card for both purchases and a life of balance transfer each will be treated separately. What this means is simple but it is important to understand because so many people have been caught out -

• Transfer £3,000 to the card in order to take advantage of the 5.94% life of balance deal
• Budget that you’ll make 36 monthly payments to settle the amount in full after 3 years
• Also however buy a new TV for £1,000 looking to take advantage of the 10 months 0% interest deal
• At the end of the 10 month period you will look to repay the £1,000 in full and just be left with the original debt
• There’s a good chance that the small print won’t let you pay off the £1,000 until the £3,000 life of balance transfer has been paid off in full, and WORSE the £1,000 is being charged at 16%+

If in doubt do one of two things -

1. Only use the card for either the life of balance deal or the 10 months 0% interest, or
2. Contact Sainsbury’s to get clarification on this matter, but ask to speak to a supervisor, get their name and the exact time and date of the call (just in case someone tries to stuff you up in the future, always be prepared in these cases)

Apply for the Sainsbury's Credit Card offer

Summary

Think of Credit Cards as financial tools with different cards being used for different jobs. And this is why have a good clean credit file is so important - it keeps your financial options open and gives you access to the best deals.

But if your Credit Rating is not very good, don’t worry about it too much just concentrate on improving it. Read these 2 article from the LearnMoney.co.uk site -

• How to improve your credit rating
• Explosive - How to get 'Default' notices off your credit file

See Also

• The Sainsbury's Credit Card deal
• Find's List of Credit Card Links