By: Peter Stephens | Updated: 22nd October, 2019.
The M&S Transfer Plus card gives you a very long 28 months of 0% interest on balances transferred in the first 90 days. Users will have to cough up a balance-transfer fee of 2.85% though. Balancing that out, the M&S Transfer Plus also offers 0% for 6 months on purchases and M&S rewards on all purchases.
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The M&S Transfer Plus Credit Card offers a 0% interest rate on balance transfers for 28 months. This could help consumers with existing debt to reduce their interest payments and improve their cash flow. The card offers a range of rewards, including M&S points on every £1 spent, preferential rates on foreign exchange and bonus M&S points for successful applicants. It also has no annual fee and offers 0% interest on purchases made within the first six months of account opening.
While there is a 2.85% balance transfer fee and balance transfers must be made within 90 days of account opening, the card is appealing when compared with its rivals. Although it is always a good idea to shop around to find the best card for your financial circumstances, the card has a broader appeal than many of its balance transfer peers.
I have been writing for The Motley Fool since 2013, and have experienced the booms and busts of the UK economy for a number of decades both as an investor and a consumer. I have held various senior management positions during my career, while also setting up my own manufacturing company in 1996. It was subsequently sold in 2007. I have a keen interest in consumer finance, as well as in the stock market.
For consumers who are seeking a longer period of 0% interest on balance transfers, it is possible to obtain a 32-month period elsewhere. Similarly, some credit cards do not charge a balance transfer fee. However, the M&S Transfer Plus Credit Card has a competitive period of 0% interest on balance transfers, and it’s often difficult to get quite that long of a 0% interest balance transfer period without paying a balance transfer fee. Therefore, its overall appeal from a balance transfer perspective is high.
Furthermore, the card offers a range of rewards which are not always present on balance transfer cards. The 0% offer on new purchases for the first six months, as well as the lack of an annual fee, help the card to compete effectively against its rivals.
Since the 28-month 0% balance transfer period is representative, it may not be offered to all applicants. It may, therefore, be a sound move to use the online eligibility checker on the M&S website (which does not affect your credit score) in order to obtain a personalized offer. This may help consumers to more easily compare the balance transfer offers available to them.
The card is available to all UK residents over the age of 18. It takes around seven minutes when applying online to find out whether your application has been successful.
Applying for the M&S Transfer Plus Credit Card can be done online. A variety of information is required. This includes residential address details, previous address details, income figures, employment information and personal details such as your email address and date of birth. Successful applications can take under ten minutes. Individuals who have held an M&S credit card within the last year are unable to apply for the card.
In a competitive balance transfer segment, the M&S Transfer Plus Credit Card has appeal. Its 28-month 0% interest period on balance transfers is competitive, even after taking the balance transfer fee into account.
While it is possible to obtain a longer 0% balance transfer period or avoid a balance transfer fee with other cards, the M&S Transfer Plus Credit Card’s offer of rewards helps to differentiate it from rivals. It also offers preferential rates on foreign exchange, 0% interest on purchases for six months and bonus M&S points for successful applicants. Alongside there is no annual fee, this could make the card attractive to a variety of consumers.
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