After the interest-free period ends rates rise to MBNA's standard, at 20.9% for balance transfers and 22.9% on other debts.
Note that the 0% fee only applies to balance transfers made within the first 90 days of opening the account; a 3% fee is charged for balance transfers made after the first 90 days.
Tesco's Clubcard credit card is offering the longest 0% period at 13 months for purchases and nine months for balance transfers (subject to a 2.9% transfer fee), according to Moneynet.co.uk.
Interest rates vary from card to card and according to how you use your card – for example, you might pay a different rates for withdrawing cash, for purchases and for balance transfers.
The advert for MBNA's Platinum Plus Visa Card boldly claims that you can save £486 in five months if you take advantage of its 2.7percentnt interest rate for balance transfers.
Barclaycard has revealed that at some points in 2012 it was receiving more than 100,000 applications a month for balance transfers from new customers – the equivalent of two per minute.
The battle between credit card companies vying to offer the longest 0 per cent term for balance transfers shows no sign of tailing off, with the launch of yet another high-profile deal.
If you already have a Barclaycard and need to transfer your existing balance to a new deal, the next longest, at 22 months, is offered by Tesco Clubcard credit card for balance transfers (2.9% transfer fee) and Halifax (3.5% transfer fee).
The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Platinum Cash Rewards Card for Studentsoffers an interest rate of 4.99 percent for balance transfers for 24 months, (You do have to be a credit union member, and that is possible even if you do not have a military affiliation, for an annual fee, according to PenFed's Web site).
The Finance forum on FatWallet, which is a must-read for the credit card cognoscenti, maintains a list of some of the remaining credit cards that still charge nothing for balance transfers and let you pay zero percent for at least a few months.
