The 0% balance transfer credit card market may be shrinking, but there are still a host of competitive offerings out there.
Recent research found that the number of lenders offering such deals has fallen from 82% to 75% in the last year. Capital One was the latest high profile withdrawal, pulling both its long term 0% balance transfer and new purchase deals from the market.
Total credit card debt in the UK grew £300 million between June and September alone, so the fact that the balance transfer market is shrinking at a time when customers need such deals most is certainly a cause for concern.
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Balance transfer market still competitive
However, the good news is that there is still healthy competition at the top end of the market – no sooner had Capital One pulled its 14 month balance transfer offer that Halifax improved its own Plus card offering to 15 months.
In fact, there are still 12 different providers on the market with a 0% balance transfer offer of 13 months or longer.
Best of the lot is still the Virgin credit card, offering 0% for 16 months, but the table below shows that your aren’t about to run out of options should you need to clear debt cheaply.
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Don't forget your credit score
Of course, it doesn’t matter how many balance transfer cards there are on the market if you are going to be rejected for all of them.
Maintaining a healthy credit rating is more important than ever, with credit card providers tightening their lending criteria in response to the credit crunch.
Read our article on maintaining a five star credit rating to ensure you get access to all the best deals out there.
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