A new look is not always better – Halifax One Card

Michelle Slade, Personal Finance Analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: “This is what the new card has to offer:

0% on balance transfers for nine months (fee of 3%), plus a further six month’s 0% on the anniversary of the card (fee of 3%)
13.9% APR.

“The new terms of this card place the Halifax deal in a competitive position, but it is by no way a market leader. Moneyfacts.co.uk best buy charts are nominated with 0% deals of 12 months or longer. The balance transfer fee of 3% is the highest on the market, and standard rates lower than 10% can still be found.

“The new feature of this card is the option to transfer a further balance on the anniversary of the card at 0% for six months, with a fee of 3%, a spending pattern which should not be encouraged.

“While paying off your existing balance transfer deal, you should not create another debt on a second card, which can then be ‘bailed’ out by a second balance transfer deal a year later. Credit cards should be used as a short term borrowing option, ideally to manage any cash flow mismatches, not as a longer term, hard core borrowing choice.”