*£589.39 interest saved in first 12 months. £3500 balance transferred from a 24.9% APR card to a 0% card for 29 months, then 24.9% (variable), with a fixed monthly payment of £175. Includes 3.49% transfer fee of £122.15. Representative 24.9% APR. Terms offered depend on your financial circumstances and borrowing history. Find full calculation here. Updated July 2024.
Interest free, or 0%, purchase credit cards let you essentially borrow for free in the short term. That's because they don't charge interest on spending during the introductory period.
They can be a great way to spread the cost of expensive items like sofas, TVs, bikes and holidays over months or potentially years.
These cards are only interest free for a fixed period of time. You'll still need to meet your minimum monthly repayments to keep the 0% interest offer in place.
Depending on the interest free period, you may pay no interest on your big purchase at all, provided you repay the full amount owing before the interest-free period expires.
When used responsibly, 0% interest credit cards can effectively be used for interest free borrowing. For example you could make a large purchase, or several small purchases that rack up a balance of £3,000. Let's say you get a 0% purchase card that offers you 24 months of 0% interest. Divide the balance on the card (£3,000) by the number of months remaining on the 0% period (24) to get the monthly payment you need to make to pay of the entire balance before the interest free period ends.
In this case that's £125, so you can set up a direct debit paying this amount each month to pay off the debt before the 0% deal ends. This way you won't have paid a single penny in interest.
One thing to keep in mind is that you should make sure not to make any additional purchase with this credit, or you'll keep adding to the balance.
Many cards offer more than just 0% on purchases. What makes the best purchase credit card for you will depend on your needs.
Longest 0% purchase period
Lowest APR
0% on both purchases and balance transfers
0% credit cards with rewards
Source: Defaqto and Uswitch data, correct as of December 19, 2022
The longer the 0% purchase period, the longer you have to pay back your balance without being charged any interest. So look for a card with the longest 0% period.
The annual percentage rate (APR) shows you what the credit card will cost you once your 0% introductory period ends. A higher APR means higher repayments.
Depending on your financial situation, the credit card provider might not give you the APR you see advertised. Credit card providers only have to give the typical APR they advertise to around 50% of successful applicants.
You can avoid interest on both your spending and existing credit card debts, with an 'all in one' or 'all round' credit cards. They work by offering a 0% introductory period on both balance transfers and purchases.
But they can become expensive if you're unable to pay off what you owe once the 0% introductory period ends.
Some 0% purchase credit cards will offer you the chance to earn rewards on your spending. This includes things like loyalty card points, vouchers and air miles.
Find out more about reward credit cards.
When we use the term ‘most popular or ‘popularity’ on Uswitch in reference to credit cards, these cards are ranked by the number of clicks they have received on the site in the past 30 days.
The most clicked on cards are at the top, with the least at the bottom. This reflects how popular they are with visitors to Uswitch.com. Consequently, this is a good table to look at if you’re interested in seeing which cards most people think are worth getting.
We compare over 100 credit cards from all of the major banks and credit card providers.
However, we do not compare all the credit cards that are available in the UK.
This is because some credit card providers have offers that are only available exclusively through their own website or branch, or through other comparison websites - in the same way some credit cards are exclusively available through Uswitch.
There are also many credit cards that are only available to people in member organisations and clubs.
Our best deals on a range of credit card categories by use:
Our top credit cards by type, most popular deals and business cards