0% balance transfer & purchase cards

Set up a direct debit for at least the minimum repayment as soon as you're accepted. Even though it's at 0%, or a low rate, you still need to make repayments. If you miss one, you'll usually lose your cheap deal – the rate will jump to the APR and you'll get a £12ish charge.

Your aim should be to pay more than the minimum amount – unless you've pricey debts elsewhere, in which case focus max repayments on them. Minimum payments are designed to make debts last as long as possible and increase the overall cost of borrowing, which you should try to avoid – see tips to beat this in Danger: Minimum Repayments.

Credit card firms have to put your repayments towards the most expensive debt first. So say you have a credit card with a £500 debt from purchases at 0% APR, and a £500 debt from a balance transfer at 24.9% APR - if you paid back £600 at the end of the month, £500 would be allocated to the balance transfer debt, with the remaining £100 going towards the debt from purchases.

But with all-rounder credit cards, where borrowing via a balance transfer or spending is at the same 0% interest, it’s up to the credit card provider as to how they allocate repayments. While most will put repayments towards overdue payments and late fees first, each operates slightly differently.

For example, some will prioritise the oldest debt, some the largest debt, and some the debt with the soonest ending 0% period. Others may go in a set order such as money transfers, then balance transfers, then card purchases. The exact breakdown can be found on your statement or the card's summary box.

Of course, it doesn't matter which order debts are addressed if you can afford to pay off your card in full each month, or if you have an all-rounder card with equal 0% periods.

These cards are designed to make lenders money when you fail to pay them off within the 0% period. At that point, the interest rate jumps massively, to a standard 22%ish APR.

Your aim should always be to clear the amount you transferred during the 0% period, minimising interest. If that's not possible, your next best bet is to shift again before the intro deal ends – or even back to the original card you shifted the debt from, if that's cheaper than the go-to rate on the 0% balance transfer & spending card.

While balance transfers and purchases on these cards are interest-free for a number of months, cash withdrawals are not – interest is usually charged from the date of making the cash withdrawal until it's paid off.

This means you'll most probably see an interest charge on the first statement after the cash withdrawal, which is the interest charged from the date you made the cash withdrawal until the date the statement was issued.

But you may also find interest is charged on the following statement. There'll be a delay between your statement being drawn up, and you paying it. It may be a couple of days, it may be a couple of weeks. But you'll be charged interest on the cash withdrawal until you pay it off.

For most cards, the 0% period is only reserved for balance transfers that are made within the first 60 or 90 days – though always check your card for its time limit, as it does vary. After this has passed, any transfers would incur expensive interest at the card's normal rate, unless it's paid off in full.

This can sometimes apply to the one-off transfer fee too, so it's likely you'd incur a higher fee on later transfers, in addition to interest.

There are some notable exceptions to this though, with certain cards requiring the balance transfer to be requested at the point of applying and other cards allowing transfers at any point during the 0% period. Though as the 0% period usually starts on the day of account opening, you'd have less interest-free time if you waited.

For balance transfers, one rule is pretty clear – you can't transfer a balance from a card issued by the same bank (ie, from one Barclaycard to another).

However for some cards it's a bit more complicated, as certain providers extend this to prevent transfers between cards from the same banking group:

The key things to check are:

• 0% purchase period – how long you can spend interest-free.

• 0% balance transfer period – how long existing debt is at 0%.

• Balance transfer fee – usually 0%–4% of the debt moved.

• Rep APR – the rate you’ll pay once the 0% deal ends (often 23%–25%).

Pick a card with a long enough 0% period to clear your debt. All credit cards come with standard protection if things go wrong.

It’s not just about your score – lenders want customers they think will be profitable. If they decide you can’t afford the card, or you don’t fit their business goals, they may say no. Sometimes it’s as random as preferring applicants who might later take out a mortgage. Always check your credit file for errors, but don’t expect clear reasons. For deeper insight, try our free Credit Club.

This all depends on how you use the card. If you never miss a repayment and stay within your credit limit, you should avoid negatively impacting your credit rating. You could even improve it by demonstrating your It depends how you use it.

Managed well (repay on time, stay within your limit), a credit card can help build your score by proving you’re creditworthy. Mismanaging it can be costly and harm your rating. Applications involve a hard credit check, which leaves a mark on your file – repeated rejections can lower your chances next time.

Use our eligibility calculator first for a soft check that won’t affect your score. If you’ve old cards gathering dust, see our guide on how to cancel a credit card.

No – credit cards don’t work like loans. You choose how much to repay (at least the set minimum each month). The interest rate is simply the cost of debt – eg, 20% on £1,000 is £200 a year if the balance stays the same. Always check a card’s minimum repayment before switching, as it could be higher than what you pay now. Aim to repay more than the minimum – it clears debt faster and costs you far less. See our Minimum Repayments: Danger! guide for full help.

If it's not high enough to buy what you want, or transfer other debts to the card, just use as much of the limit of the card you've just got as you can. You could always try to get another purchases or balance transfer card, or look for another way to get the cash. See How much credit limit should I have? and High credit limit cards for more.

It could, but you'll need to be disciplined. These 'all-rounder' 0% cards can be used to balance-transfer existing card debts, giving you time to pay off the debt more slowly, and at 0%. But as there's a 0% spending period too, it could actually tempt you in to further debt – so it might be better not to take the risk.

It may be better to look at more serious ways to cut costs and sort out your debts. See our Money Makeover guide for how to cut costs on everyday expenses, or Debt Help for where to find help and advice.

APR stands for annual percentage rate – this represents the annual cost of borrowing on a credit card. It includes the cost of the borrowing (or the 'purchase rate' – the amount of interest you pay on any outstanding balance), plus any monthly or annual fees if applicable.

An APR is therefore meant to give you the overall equivalent cost of a debt, which you can then use to compare against other credit and loan products. It must be displayed by a lender before any agreement is signed.

A representative APR means at least 51% of customers will get that rate or lower. The rate you actually get depends on your credit history, so you could get a different interest rate to the one advertised.