Brits to shed £9bn Christmas pounds in New Year card shuffle

More than three million British credit cardholders (7 per cent) are planning to shift at least £8.99 billion excess pounds to new credit cards in the New Year according to research from Abbey credit cards.

On average, cardholders will be switching an average of £2,666 in the first three months of 2008. Although men and women were almost equally as likely to be planning to take advantage of a balance transfer credit card deal, (8 per cent and 7 per cent respectively), men were planning to switch much larger balances than women (£3,395 vs. £1,820).

The Abbey research also found a geographical divide – those living in the South East of England were almost twice as likely as people living in Scotland to be planning to transfer a balance to new plastic (9 per cent vs. 5 per cent). Midlanders were transferring the largest balances (£3,021) in contrast to the Welsh who plan to shift an average of £2,022.

Additionally those aged between 35 and 44 years were most likely to be planning to take out a new card with a balance transfer offer – 11 per cent of this age group indicated they would be switching plastic compared to just three per cent of over 65s.

Roger Lovering, Managing Director of Abbey Credit Cards, said: “It’s great to see that many people are already turning their attention to getting their finances in order. January credit card bills can often catch people by surprise, so we would encourage people to keep a check on their finances over the festive season and plan ahead to ensure they aren’t paying over the odds for their plastic. Abbey’s got a great balance transfer offer for all new customers with a thirteen month interest free period.”