Capital One Advertisement

What's in your wallet?Guardian Unlimited
Keeping on top of your finances can be a bit complicated, not to mention time-consuming and let's face it, every once in a while, boring. The much repeated mantra of "shop around" is a great idea in theory but who really has the time or inclination to constantly switch their financial products to keep up-to-date with ever changing interest rates?
Credit cards can be the worst of the lot. How often have you switched to a tempting looking introductory offer that suddenly seems to be costing you more than you thought when it expires six months later?
You did mean to pay it off by the time the nice-sounding rate ran out, but then there was that laptop you just had to buy......and before you know it you're paying off your debt with the nasty-sounding interest rate.
Capital One research shows 12m credit card holders (yes, that includes you) have an average outstanding balance of £1,362, of which £280 is paid off each month. Sound familiar? Yet if they transferred their balance to a consistently low rate they wouldn't need to worry about paying a high rate of interest on that part of their outstanding balance later.
Plenty of credit cards these days offer a 0% balance transfer rate for life - only to then hike up the interest rate once the interest free period has expired. Capital One, on the other hand offer a low 4.9% balance transfer interest rate for transfers made in the first six months of the account, with that rate applying for the entire life of that balance transferred. For new balances transferred after six months the interest is still one of the best on the market at 12.94%.
An interest rate for the life of your transferred balance should help you to keep track of your debt so it never needs to spiral out of control.
As if this wasn't tempting enough there's an introductory rate for new purchases of 0% for six months, which then reverts to the standard interest rates of 12.94%. So while that niggling, annoying debt you meant to pay off earlier is accruing interest at a very low rate until you do pay it off, you can put any new spending on your card without any interest applied for a limited period.
You can keep up-to-date with your credit card account whenever you like on the internet at www.capitalone.co.uk, but if you prefer the friendly, personal touch you can bank by phone and get any answers to your questions by calling 0800 952 5150.
So stop worrying about money. Switch your balance to Capital One and relax in the knowledge that you've just moved to long-term value for life.
NB: Please note: The Long Term APR for purchases takes account of the introductory rate and the ongoing standard rate. The Capital One credit card has an introductory 0% interest rate for purchases fixed for 6 months and an ongoing standard interest rate of 12.94 % p.a. variable thereafter, which gives a long term typical APR of 10.9% variable. The APR for balances transferred from other credit cards during the first six months is 4.9% fixed until the balance has been paid off. For new balances transferred after six months the interest rate is 12.94% p.a. variable. On cash advances the APR is 20.5% variable including a handling charge of 1.5%,minimum £2.00. Charges are variable. The minimum monthly payment is 3% of the outstanding balance or £5 whichever is greater. The interest rates are variable for purchases after six months, for balance transfers made after 6 months and cash withdrawals from the date of the agreement. A written quotation is available on request. All applicants must be aged 18 or over,and resident in the UK. For a Platinum card, applicants must be 21 or over and receiving an income of more than £10,000 per annum. Credit is available subject to status and conditions. If your application is accepted we will set a credit limit. If you have applied to transfer a balance from another credit card, we will transfer an amount according to this credit limit. To help improve our service, we may record / monitor calls to and from CapitalOne Bank. If you have applied for a Capital One card in the last six months your application may be declined. If you already have a Capital One card please do not re-apply. Capital One Bank (Europe) plc: Registered Office 18Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HX