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The best credit cards and loans
By Hannah Ricci
With so many credit cards to choose from, it's difficult to know where to start, but being on a bad deal could be costing you hundreds of pounds more in interest - so it's important to use a card to suit your usage.
If you regularly use your card for spending, look for a card with a low rate on purchases. The best deal at the moment is the Halifax Purchase MasterCard, which charges 0% on purchases for 15 months with a 59-day interest-free period, and 14.9% thereafter.
If you have a large debt on your card, transfer it to another that offers 0% on balance transfers. Virgin Money's MasterCard offers 0% for 15 months, with a 2.98% balance transfer fee and 15.9% APR on purchases.
The best standard rate currently belongs to the Barclaycard's Simplicity Visa, which charges 6.8% on purchases with a 56-day interest-free period, and 15.8% on withdrawals with an additional 2.5% ATM fee.
If you're heading overseas, opt for a card with the lowest charges for foreign usage such as the Post Office Classic MasterCard which charges 16.9% on purchases; 20.94% on cash withdrawals with a 2% fee; 0% foreign usage loading and withdrawal limit of £700 a day.
Loans for bigger purchases
While credit cards will suffice for some purchases, an unsecured personal loan could be best for bigger purchases such as a car or home improvements. Yourpersonalloan.co.uk currently offers the cheapest loan with an APR of 6.3%. Repayments for a £5,000 loan are £152.39 a month over three years without insurance, and £191.31 a month over five years for a £10,000 loan. Moneyback Bank also charge a competitive rate of 6.5% APR, making repayments for a £5,000 loan at £152.91 a month over three years without insurance, and £194.09 a month for a £10,000 loan repaid over five years.
Whereas for students, the best place to go for a graduate loan remains Barclays Bank, where graduates can borrow between £500-10,000 from up to two years after completing their course, at an APR of 7.9%.
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