By: Harvey Jones | Updated: 16th December 2020.
Tesco Bank’s Purchases Card is a solid choice if you’re looking for a good period for 0% interest on your spending, as 18 months stacks up pretty well with competitors. The card gets even better if you’re a Tesco customer, since it’ll help you rack up Tesco points. You’ll get 1 Clubcard point for every £4 you spend at Tesco and 1 Clubcard point for every £8 that you spend elsewhere.
0% purchases for 18 months
KEY SCORES:
Tesco delivers with this card. The 18-month, 0% introductory rate on purchases makes this card a strong contender. Throw in Clubcard points as well, and it’s a great offer for regular Tesco shoppers who also want to spread the cost of a new purchase over more than a year without paying any interest.
I’ve been a personal financial journalist for 30 years, writing for national newspapers, magazines and websites. I reported on the technology boom in the 1990s, and the subsequent bust. I covered the financial crisis, and the tentative recovery. Decades of writing about the big banks has taught me to be sceptical, to examine every pledge and promise, and look closely at the small print of their product offerings. I’m on the side of the consumer, alert to rip-offs while also keen to highlight top deals. There are plenty out there, if you know where to look.
The headline 0% purchase rate plus the Clubcard points deal is a winner for Tesco shoppers, but no credit card gives you everything.
At 18 months, Tesco’s 0% purchases deal is riding comfortably in the best-buy tables, although a few other cards also run to 18 months, or even longer. If you’re a regular Tesco shopper though, that fact still may tilt the balances in favour of this card.
When you apply for any form of borrowing, the provider will check your credit rating with one of the big reference agencies such as Experian or Equifax. This will highlight any financial problems such as missed payments, bankruptcy or County Court Judgements (CCJs) in the last six years.
If you have had prior financial problems, Tesco might cut your 0% interest period or charge you a higher APR, or reject you altogether.
To qualify, you must have an annual income of at least £5,000, a good credit history, hold no more than one Tesco Bank Credit Card and have not applied for a Tesco Bank Credit Card in the last month.
You need to gather some basic personal information including:
You will also need details of any other credit cards if you’re planning to transfer the balances to Tesco. The application should take just 10 minutes online, but existing Tesco Bank customers could find it even quicker.
This card has one clear attraction: a solid 0% introductory purchases deal. If you want to spread the cost of a major purchase for more than a year without incurring any interest, this is a strong contender. Just remember to clear it within 18 months, since the standard APR kicks in after that. Other cards also offer 0% purchases for 18 months or more, but Clubcard points may give this the edge for regular Tesco shoppers. If you don’t need 0% purchases but do want those points, check the rest of the Tesco credit card range.
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