Is it really worth all the bother of taking out a balance transfer credit card just to move a balance from one credit card to another?
Yes! It really is worth the bother. Let me show you why it is worth being smart with your credit cards.
The classic way to cut the cost of your credit card is the balance transfer. Let’s say you previously took out a credit card and you now have a balance of £3,000.
Most cards charge credit card interest of between 15% and 19% annual percentage rate (APR).
If you ran a balance of £3,000 for 16 months at on a credit card with an APR of 16.9% you would be charged a total of £676 in interest.
At the time of writing the Virgin credit card offers 16 months interest free on balance transfers so moving your balance to the Virgin credit card would save you £676 in interest.
| Credit card | APR | Interest paid |
| Your card | 16.9% | £676 |
| Virgin card* | 0% for 16 months | £0 |
| You save | | £676 |
*Details correct at time of writing. See our comparison tables for the latest deals.
Of course, the Virgin credit card charges a balance transfer free of 2.98%, but, even after including the fee, your total saving is still £417.60. Well worth having.
The best thing is that once your balance transfer credit card introductory deal has come to an end you can simply move the balance to another credit card and take advantage of more free credit.
