Balance transfer credit cards

A 0% interest balance transfer means you don’t pay interest on a transferred amount until after the 0% interest period has ended. This means that all monthly payments could reduce your existing credit card balance, rather than paying off interest, for the duration of the promotional period.

With a balance transfer you could move credit card debt from a card that charges a higher interest rate to one with a lower rate, or with a 0% interest period on balance transfers. Though there may be a fee for transferring your balance.

It could help you to lower your total credit card debt by paying down your existing credit balance, rather than just paying off interest charges.

The balance transfer can take up to 2 working days from when you activate your card. If you request a balance transfer as part of your application, you'll need to activate your card within 60 days for this to be processed.

Your card must be activated before the balance transfer can take place. While the balance transfer is processed, please continue to make payments to your other card.

Yes, you can use a balance transfer card to make purchases, though with some cards you might be charged interest for doing this.

If you're looking to make purchases and transfer a balance, you could consider one of our cards above that have 0% interest periods on both, within just one card.

Or you could use any of our balance transfer cards for purchases and won't be charged interest on them if you pay off balances that aren’t on a 0% rate, in full every month.

When a balance transfer has been completed, the old credit card will remain active. Keeping the old credit card open can help boost your credit score; however, you can cancel the card if you’re afraid of running up more debt.

It depends. In some cases a balance transfer may temporarily decrease your credit score. This is due to the application for a new credit line, but your score should rebound quickly if there are no other factors at play. If a balance transfer helps you to reduce your debt and manage your repayments better, your credit score could improve in the long term.

APR is short for Annual Percentage Rate. It tells you the cost of borrowing, as a percentage of the amount you owe, over a year.

You can use the APR to work out how much a credit card, loan or mortgage, or other forms of credit will cost. The APR includes the interest rate charged, along with any fees.

Most credit cards have a variable APR, and all it means is that the Annual Percentage Rate for a credit card may change over time. If the APR on your card is going to change, you’ll be notified in advance.

Most of our charges and fees relate to when you move money between accounts, withdraw cash, or pay for things abroad. You may also be charged if you go over your credit limit or miss a payment. You can check your interest rate on your monthly statements.

To see the complete list, read our page on charges, fees, and interest.

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you could get extra protection if something goes wrong on single purchases that cost between £100 and £30,000. So if something you've paid for turns up broken or faulty, or if it doesn't arrive at all, you may be able to get your money back through a Section 75 claim.

Read more about your consumer rights on our page on the top credit card features.

Yes, you can manage your credit card with Online Banking or on our mobile banking app.

Yes, your Tesco Bank Credit Card will work overseas.

With each transaction in a foreign currency you’ll be charged a foreign exchange fee of 2.75% of the cost of your purchase.

Get more information in our guide to using your credit and debit cards abroad.

A Tesco Bank Credit Card is also a Clubcard, so when you spend on it in Tesco you’ll collect your normal Clubcard points (1 point for every £1 spent) plus an extra 1 point for every £4 you spend.

When you buy Tesco fuel (excluding Esso) you’ll collect your normal Clubcard points at an enhanced rate of 1 point for every £1 spent (usually 1 point for every £2 spent with a Clubcard alone) and you’ll get 1 extra point for every £4 spent.

When you spend outside Tesco you’ll collect 1 point for every £8 you spend.

Points are calculated on single transactions and you must have available credit. Points collection rates are subject to change. Remember there are some things you won’t collect points on.

The Tesco Clubcard Scheme is administered by Tesco Stores Limited, Tesco House, Shire Park, Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 1GA who are responsible for fulfilling Clubcard points.

You can only collect points on purchases, so cash withdrawals, cash transactions, balance or money transfers, gambling transactions, buying travel money and regular payments like standing orders and Direct Debits don’t count.

There are also some products at Tesco you can’t collect points on, see the Clubcard website for details.

Every 3 months your Clubcard points are turned into Clubcard vouchers. Or you can choose to get them quicker with Faster Vouchers.

Your vouchers can be used to spend at Tesco, in store or on fuel (excluding Esso), or they can be exchanged to get up to 3x the value of your vouchers with Tesco Reward Partners.

The calculator works out how many Clubcard points you could collect if you had a Tesco Bank Credit Card and used it to pay for items in and out of Tesco.

Based on the amounts you enter into the calculator, we work out the number of Clubcard points you could collect and give an idea of the amount in Clubcard vouchers.

Remember though, your points will be worked out on each individual transaction that you make and not on your total monthly spend. So, this means the calculator only gives an indication and the actual points you receive could vary.

Don't forget that you'll need to spend a minimum amount to begin collecting Clubcard points.

When you open a credit card account with us you’ll be automatically enrolled into the Clubcard scheme if you’re not already a member, and Tesco Bank will share information with Tesco Stores for the operation of your Clubcard account.

Clubcard accounts are managed separately by Tesco Stores, and you should visit the Tesco privacy notice for further information about how Tesco Stores uses your information.