Best Value Credit Cards

We can help you find the best credit card deals, whatever kind of plastic you are looking for. Credit cards are the power behind the purses and wallets of about two-thirds of UK adults, which means that over 30 million of us are carrying one or more around! Roughly half of us have only one card, but a sizeable minority have five or more plastic friends.

There are roughly seventy million credit cards in issue in the UK, on which we spend about £10 billion a month. What's more, our cards should be red-hot, because we use them about two billion times a year.

We're also borrowing a lot more on credit cards these days. In fact, over the last ten years, our credit card debt has more than quadrupled. So, we Brits have become “plastic junkies”, using our credit cards to borrow routinely, as well as to spend. Not that nice...

Of course, used wisely, credit cards are a convenient tool to help with everyday budgeting. If you pay off your bill every month, you can enjoy up to 59 days' interest-free credit. However, only around half of cardholders do this, with the remainder ending up paying interest. Credit cards are a horribly expensive way to borrow money and, used carelessly, they can cripple your finances and leave you with a long-term debt problem. Be carefull!

Then again, paying by credit card can be better than paying by cash, cheque or debit card. That's because you have extra legal protection if you use your credit card to buy anything costing between £100 and £30,000. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, your card issuer is said to "wear the supplier's shoes". Hence, if goods don't turn up or prove to be faulty, or if the supplier misleads you, breaches the contract or goes bust, you can seek compensation from your credit-card issuer.

This 'joint liability' is especially useful when suppliers go out of business, as occasionally happens with, say, travel firms. However, Section 75 does not apply to debit or charge cards – and some card issuers will not consider claims for foreign purchases.

The main factors to consider from a credit card are the long term interest rates , and the level of any additional services or rewards offered. Remember to look for a good value long term APR, rather than being tempted by 0% APR offers alone.

Remember that every credit card application you make will result in a credit search being conducted. We do not advise you to apply for more than one credit card at a time. If your application is declined, we would suggest waiting at least three months before applying for a different card.