Due to the fierce competition in the UK credit card market, various UK credit card suppliers offer attractive balance transfer schemes too. There are some UK credit cards that offer 0% balance transfer for 9 months and there are others that offer 0% for 6 months. However, the catch here is that these UK card credit suppliers differ on their standard APR rate i.e. the APR rate which comes into effect after the expiry of the introductory 0% balance transfer offer. Further there are some UK credit cards that do not offer a 0% balance transfer but instead offer a better standard rate (APR) throughout. Some UK credit card suppliers combine 0% offers with accrual of points on a rewards programme. Another popular thing among UK credit cards is to combine cash back offers with balance transfers. Then there are some very attractive offers which give 0% not only on balance transfers but also on Purchases (for a short period like 5 month or so). You also have a few UK credit cards that can be procured by people with bad credit history too (of course, the decision on approval of such a credit card application will lie with the credit card supplier).

So what does one do if one wants to transfer balance to another UK credit card. Well, it’s quite simple. You need to take stock of your current financial situation and determine if a period of 6 months or 9 months (or maybe even 12 months) would be sufficient for you to fully payback the dues on your UK credit card. If the answer is in the affirmative, just go ahead for the UK credit card that offers 0% balance transfer for this period (even if the standard APR rate is a bit higher). However, the assumption here is that once you payback the debt on your UK credit card, you will stick to controlled spending and will pay your credit card bills in full amount by the due date for payment; otherwise, the choice of a higher standard APR will hit you very hard and you will be in deeper trouble. However, if you think that 9 months is not sufficient to pay back the debt on your UK credit card, then you should look to strike a balance between the zero APR period and the standard APR rate, and choose a UK credit card which leads to the least total outgo (you will need to sit with a calculator and calculate the total outgo on various UK credit card offers).

This is the most basic aspect that you need to consider before you decide on which UK credit card is the best for transferring balance. Other things like 0% on purchases, reward programmer points etc are secondary things.

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People who are in debt (credit card debt) often get to hear this advice ‘Consolidate credit card debt’. So, what does that ‘Consolidate credit card debt’ mean? Well, pretty simply, ‘Consolidate credit card debt’ means consolidating the debt on various credit cards into one (or two) credit card. This consolidation can be done either through a low interest bank loan or by transferring balance to a new credit card (i.e. transferring the amount you owe, on one or more credit card, to a new credit card(s)).

So what should you do when you are looking to consolidate credit cards? Well, the key thing to look for is the APR or the annual percentage rate. Whatever method you adopt to consolidate credit cards, APR will always be the key; in fact, you could say that it is the sole criteria to look for. So, if you use a bank loan to consolidate credit card debt, the interest rate on the bank loan should be lower than the APR of the credit cards whose debt you are consolidating. Similarly, if you are moving to another credit card, you must make sure that the APR of the new credit card is lesser than the credit cards whose debt you are consolidating. However, there is a catch that you must be aware of when laying a plan to consolidate credit card debt. The APR rates advertised by most credit card suppliers are the short term APR rates which are meant to lure you to consolidate credit card debt with them. By short term we mean APR rates that will applicable only for an initial period of less than 12 months or some other period after which the APR rates increase. When you go on to consolidate credit card debt with these credit card suppliers, they will offer you a lower (even 0%) APR for the first 6-12 months; and a much higher APR after that. You should check what this higher APR rate is. Your decision to consolidate credit card debt will be fruitful only if the new APR rate is lower than or equal to the APR on your current credit card. You might check with your current credit card supplier to see if he is able to lower your APR (if that works, it will make things really easy for you).

Before you move on to consolidate credit card debt you should understand that consolidating credit card debt will be beneficial only if you pledge to adopt and follow disciplined approach to credit card usage i.e. controlled spending and regular/timely payment of credit card dues.

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