Brits not taking full advantage of interest free periods offered on credit cards
Over recent years, with a growing number of interest free credit cards hitting the UK market, Brits have enjoyed the opportunity to benefits from the convenience and flexibility of credit card spending without having to make interest payments on their balance. However, data suggests that a great many Brits are failing to take advantage of the interest free periods offered on these cards, and rather than clearing the balance within the interest free period are making minimal repayments and leaving themselves with a hefty balance when the interest free period expires.
A recent survey that was carried out by Moneysupermarket suggested that Brits were making over one and a half billion pounds worth of interest charges that could easily be avoided simply by repaying the balance on the credit card before the expiry of the interest free period, which tends to vary from one credit card issuer to another. Brits also seem to be failing when it comes to transferring any balance on their credit cards onto an interest free balance transfer card at the end of the interest free period.
Experts have suggested that consumers that are not confident that they will be able to repay the balance on their credit cards within the interest free period may be better off looking for a credit card that offers a very low interest rate for the life of any transferred balance rather than risking being left with a large balance at the end of their interest free period and then having to make hefty interest charges on it.
One expert from Moneysupermarket stated: "Balance transfer cards offer a sensible way for borrowers to manage their debt, and wherever possible people should try to clear their balance during the zero per cent offer period. However, our research shows only 15 per cent of borrowers actually manage to do this."
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