Santander offer a simple choice of two credit cards with the name containing the word zero or not i.e. The Santander (Zero) Credit Card. So let’s review the differences between them to try and decide which factors are important.

Balance Transfers

Both cards offer zero percent interest on balance transfers. The zero card has no fee for existing account holders and 6 months interest free. However the non-zero card has a 3% fee but more than twice the interest free period of 13 months.

Purchases

The zero has 0% interest on purchases for 6 months and the non-zero has 0% interest for 3 months from account opening.

Cash Advances

No special deal is offered here with a high annual interest rate of 27.9% which starts being applied as soon as money is borrowed from your account.

Annual Fee

This is no annual fee to pay.

Foreign Exchange Fee

The zero card has no fee but the non-zero imposes a 2.95% foreign exchange fee.

Interest on your balance

The zero card has a typical 18.9% APR and the non-zero a typical 16.9% APR.

Gimmicks

These are no-frills cards with the usual no interest applicable provided you pay your balance for purchases off in full each month.

Summary

Both these Santander credit cards offer similar features with the zero being more attractive for someone that is likely to use their credit card on holiday for purchases.

The non-zero has a very long interest free period available for balance transfers.

When buying goods at a department store checkout, beware of the Storecard offer where you are told that if you act now you can save say 10% off your order.

Then you can pay back the bill in stages. But the hidden agenda here is that you end up unable to pay it all back on time and end up paying high interest on what you owe.

And you will be placed on a mailing list, so with every credit card statement there will be a ton of special offers pushing you to spend more money at the store.

So ask yourself, do I really need another Storecard or credit card? And do I need the extra junk mail every month?

I think we know the answer to that, so just get ready for the sales push to sign up for the discount card next time you are at the department store checkout and politely decline and pay with cash.

Sure, you may have to explain what the folding stuff is in your hand and get it checked by a store supervisor since they don’t see it so often, but ultimately, it should save your money.

The Tesco Clubcard Credit Card is available via an online application and gets you extra Clubcard points on all your purchases.

You get 5 points every time you spend £4 at Tesco stores or the Tesco website. You also get a Clubcard point when you use your card anywhere else.

Every 3 months you will be sent vouchers in exchange for the points that you have collected.

You can use your vouchers to shop at Tesco stores, on Clubcard deals towards holidays, meals and DIY etc. Or, collect AirMiles where you can get 60 AirMiles in exchange for £2.50 worth of Tesco vouchers.

The Buy Now and Payer Later scheme is available to Tesco Credit Card holders to buy selected items for 0% interest for several months with very flexible repayment terms.

When you apply for a Tesco Credit Card you can enjoy 0% interest on balance transfers for 14 months and 0% interest on purchases for 6 months.

All in all, an exciting and useful credit card to add to your plastic money collection.

For personal use, Barclaycard offer a range of credit cards to suit individual requirements from starter credit cards, student cards, speciality cards and Platinum with balance transfer options.

Barclaycard Platinum Credit Card

This has a 2.9% handling fee on balance transfers but zero percent interest for 14 months plus zero percent interest on purchases for 3 months.

The APR is a variable rate which is currently 14.9%

There are 4 variants of this card where some have 6 months of gadget insurance or have a built-in Oyster card for travel around London.

OneTouch payments is another option available where you can quickly and easily pay for items costing £10 or under.

By opting for a higher variable APR rate (currently 16.9%) you can opt for a long term fixed-interest balance transfer period (no handling fee) or you can choose to receive 4% cashback on spending. Check the terms in detail when applying online.

OneTouch Payment Card

The OnePulse credit card includes the Oyster card and OneTouch payments. There is 0% interest for the first 6 months on purchases and a variable APR which is currently 14.9%

Basic Credit Card

The Simplicity Credit Card has a lifetime low interest rate which applies to purchases and balance transfers. Currently it is a variable APR rate of 6.8%

Bad Credit Rating Card

This card has a high variable interest rate of 27.9% typical but offers you chance to improve your credit rating.

Football Credit Card

This card is ideal for football supporters since you can buy season tickets with 0% interest and earn reward points to swap for selected football merchandise.

Speciality Credit Cards

The Breathe credit card is designed to donate 50% of net profits to projects involved in tackling climate change.

The Charity credit card donates £5 to charity when you first use your card.

The Graduate credit card offers a handy credit limit of up to £4000

The Student credit card has handy retailer discounts and gives you 6 free cinema tickets.

So there is a wide range of cards available from Barclay card to suit everyone’s needs.

The Abbey Zero credit card is the only card currently being offered by the Abbey. As the name suggests, the fees are zero subject to conditions.

This is unlike many other credit cards where you are charged fees for using the card abroad, for balance transfers or simply just withdrawing cash from an ATM.

Here is what is being offered for a zero fee:

• cash advance
• purchase fee
• balance transfer
• annual fee
• exchanging currency
• statements

After you apply for a Abbey Zero credit card, you may transfer your balances from other cards within the first month where you will be charged no fee.

Then you can enjoy 0% interest for 6 months on this balance and on purchases you make with the card.

This credit card is very useful when travelling such as visiting France to shop where you can pay with your zero card and not have to pay any currency exchange fee.

You could also pay for a holiday and not pay interest.

So all looks great so far. How about the things to watch out for?

Well, like with any credit card, if you have to be careful not to build up a balance that is too big for you to afford once the interest free period is over. This is when a typical rate of interest is applied to your outstanding balance.

With a card with no charges for up to six months it is maybe tempting to overspend. So you will need to exercise good money management to make best use of this card.

For example, if you have variable income or expenses during the year, you could use the card when you need it most and clear the balance when you don’t have so many purchases to make and money is more abundant.

In conclusion, the Abbey zero card seems like a great choice if you have outstanding balances on other cards that include fees and interest. Now you can transfer these balances and pay them off more easily because of the zero fees over the initial six months.

Also, it is a good choice if you are a frequent overseas traveller.