Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card Review: Some of the Best Deals?
Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card Review: Some of the Best Deals?
Good for
- Reducing interest charges on existing credit card debt
- Reducing interest charges on purchases
- Checking your odds of acceptance before you apply
Bad for
- Those needing to move existing balances from another Halifax credit card
- Those who don't want a shorter promotional period (which you may get)
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
If you're carrying a sizable balance on your existing credit cards, Halifax offers a number of 0% intro APR balance transfer credit cards for reducing your interest payments and managing outstanding debt. In addition, all the cards include a 0% intro APR for new purchases. Halifax's no-interest promotional periods range from 15 months to 25 months, with initial transfer fees from 0% to 0%, respectively. Our favourite for almost three years without interest charges is the Low Rate deal.
- Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers
- Which is the Right Balance Transfer Credit Card for Me?
- Halifax Balance Transfer: What do I Need to Know?
- How Much Can I Save with a Balance Transfer?
Halifax Credit Card Balance Transfer Review
The Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card offers a family of balance-transfer options for those looking to get their credit card debt under control. If you have a credit card balance elsewhere that is accruing interest, a balance transfer card should be able to save you money, so long as you always stay within your credit limit and pay at least the minimum monthly payment on time. As you read through the options below remember that, generally speaking, cards with a shorter 0% APR promotional period will charge a lower fee to transfer balances to the card.
Halifax Balance Transfer Card: No Balance Transfer Fee
Not currently available. Halifax's No Balance Transfer Fee card has historically been one of the best No Fee balance transfer deals in the market, ideal for those who hope to bring their outstanding debt under control within around 15 months or so (the deal changes from time to time) before the 0% APR promotional period ends. Consumers who can manage with a shorter promotional period benefit from paying NO fee to transfer balances made in the first 90 days. When the transfer fee is waived altogether like on this card—potentially saving hundreds of pounds—more of your funds can be put towards reducing your debts. If you don't think a shorter period of 0% APR is long enough for you, one of the cards below might be a better option—but you'll pay a higher transfer fee.
Halifax Balance Transfer Card: Low Fee and Longer 0% Period
Consumers needing a bit more breathing room to bring debt under control in a no-interest environment should consider the Low Fee Halifax offer, as this has a longer 0% APR period (the offer changes but could be, for example, up to 17 months for balances transferred in the first 90 days). This slightly longer promotional period will cost you a bit more in the form of a higher transfer fee (this also changes but could be around 2.99% on all initial transferred balances). New purchases made on the Low Fee card also benefit from no interest for up to, for example, 17 months.
For consumers needing a longer 0% period, we think this Low Fee deal is often Halifax's best offer (it ends up being cheaper than the Longest 0% deal, discussed below, due to the balance transfer fees).
Halifax Balance Transfer Card: Longest 0% Period
Halifax's longest balance transfer deal is meant for consumers who need the most time to efficiently reduce their credit card debt. The 0% period is longer (e.g. up to 25 months), but the fee on initially transferred balances is higher (e.g. 3.49%).
Before choosing this offer, consider Halifax's Low Fee balance transfer, mentioned above. While you'll get a shorter 0% APR period on the Low Fee card, see what the difference is in the transfer fee. The Low Fee deal can end up cheaper than the Longest 0% deal, depending on what the fees look like. But it will depend on the exact rates and durations offered to you.
Halifax Balance Transfer & Purchases Card
Those worried about paying interest on existing credit card balances AND upcoming purchases might find the Balance Transfer and Purchases card most suitable. The card gives you a decent 0 APR time for both balance transfers and new purchases (e.g. up to 17 months). This card would be less ideal if your priority is balance transfers and you don't really need as many months of 0% APR on purchases, because you'll pay a relatively higher transfer fee to get 0 APR for both balance transfers and purchases. If balance transfers are your priority, the Low Fee deal charges a lower transfer fee for a longer 0% APR on transferred balances.
Bottom Line: The Halifax Credit Card provides a number of balance transfer options, but our favourite is frequently the Low Fee deal, as it provides a good compromise mix of lower fee and longer 0 APR period.
Choosing the Best Balance Transfer Credit Card
Choosing the right balance transfer card will depend primarily on how long you need to pay down your existing credit card debt. Basically, go for the shortest no-interest intro period that you can manage in order to pay down your debt, because a shorter duration means a lower transfer fee. See the chart below to get an understanding of how your monthly payments affect the time to pay off your debt, and consequently what kind of balance transfer card you should go for: short duration (e.g. 29 months or less), medium duration (e.g. 29-33 months), or long duration (e.g. 33 months or more).
How Halifax Balance Transfers Work
The Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card facilitates balance transfers from other interest-charging credit card accounts. Like most balance transfer cards, Halifax offers consumers a 0% introductory period on balance transfers and charges a fee for doing so. Generally speaking, the longer the 0% intro period, the higher the fee.
The Halifax cards charge a reduced balance transfer fee when you transfer any balances during the first 90 days your account is open. Any transfer made after this time will be charged the full 3% transfer fee. Depending on how much debt you have, that full fee alone can cost you hundreds of pounds. By paying a lower intro transfer fee, the Halifax Balance Transfer offers allow you to put all your available funds toward your outstanding credit card debt.
What to be Aware of
As with any 0% card, missing a payment or exceeding the credit limit will trigger an early end to any promotional periods, meaning you'll start paying stated interest rates of at least 19.9% on remaining balances (instead of 0% APR).
Transferring a balance after the initial 90-day window is much more expensive, as the transfer fees go up to 3% on all cards AND the interest rate you pay on transferred balances will jump from 0% up to 19.9% - 27.9% or more—losing the benefits of a balance transfer credit card.
Existing Halifax customers may need to look elsewhere for a balance transfer card, since the Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card only accepts balance transfers from other institutions. While you can technically have a second Halifax credit card, you cannot transfer a balance from one Halifax card to a Halifax Balance Transfer Credit Card.
Here's How Much You Can Save with a Balance Transfer
A cardholder can save hundreds or even thousands of pounds by moving an outstanding balance to a good balance transfer deal (i.e., one with a promotional 0% APR of suitable duration), depending on the size of your existing balances and your current interest rates.
As an example, let’s say you are carrying a £3,000 outstanding balance on another card that charges 19.9% and you are managing to make monthly payments of £100. At that rate it will take around 44 months to be debt free, and you'll have paid about £1,200 in interest payments along with way. You’d be better off transferring your outstanding balance to an appropriate-length balance transfer card that will keep that £1,200 of interest in your pocket—if you follow the rules and pay on time, you will not pay any interest charges while you pay down the principle. Plus you'll be debt free within 30 months instead of 44—that’s a year sooner.
In this case, let's see what happens if you move this £3,000 to a sample balance transfer credit card with a 1% balance transfer fee, which works out to £30 on a £3,000 balance. Remember you spend the £30 on transfer fees but you can potentially save over £1,000 in interest payments.
To understand the power of early payments, if you can increase your monthly payments on this £3,000 outstanding balance to £125 (from £100), you’d be debt free in 24 months on a 0% balance transfer card. By paying an extra £25 a month you’d pay down your debt another 6 months earlier.
