MARTIN LEWIS

Don’t apply willy-nilly, first see what you’ll be accepted for. When you apply for a credit card they do a credit check.

Unfortunately, banks are the type of organisation that’d lend you an umbrella when the sun shines and ask for it back when it rains. So those in most need of cutting their existing debt costs tend to be those who struggle most to be accepted.

Worse still, just applying for a card marks your credit file, which has a marginally negative impact, so if you’re rejected, being accepted elsewhere gets slightly tougher.

To help, use an eligibility calculator, like mine at moneysavingexpert.com/BTeligibility

These let you home in on the right cards, by showing which of the top deals you’re most likely to be accepted for – and they don’t impact future creditworthiness.

Go for the card with the lowest fee in the time you need. Most balance transfer cards charge a oneoff fee on the amount of debt transferred up to 3% (so £30 per £1,000 shifted).

In general the longer the 0% period the higher the fee, so you should aim for the card with the lowest fee but ensuring the 0% period is long enough. So calculate how long you think you’ll take to clear the debt, add a bit for safety, then pick the lowest fee within that The key weapon to cut interest is a balance transfer... so you shift the debt and owe it, but at no interest cost...