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/li> 0 comments Borrowers with a bad credit history can now get cashback on a credit card for the first time. The Capital One Classic Extra card gives 0.5 pc cashback on all spending, with no maximum limit. It also rewards card holders with a £5 bonus when they open their account. Cashback is credited every January. But unlike most cashback cards, borrowers do not need a perfect credit history to stand a chance of being accepted. So-called credit-repair cards such as this are specifically aimed at people who may have struggled with debt in the past.  Cashback: The Capital One card that offers cashback and builds your credit history The idea is to use the card to build up a history of using credit responsibly, making it more likely you will be accepted for a mainstream credit card, loan or mortgage in future.   More... Credit card firms pay out £50,000 in compensation for ONE woman's claim on mis-sold PPI NEW DEAL ALERT: Capital One wades in with new 5% Aspire

/li> 2 comments Barclaycard will launch a new balance transfer card deal which will give new customers 25 months of zero interest when they transfer their credit card debts. Bettering its existing market-leading balance transfer card by a month, the product will go live on its website on Monday, though it may be available on aggregator websites before then. New customers will have to transfer a balance to their Barclaycard Platinum Card within 60 days of opening their account to qualify for the introductory offer. Market leader: Barclaycard will introduce a new 25-month zero interest balance transfer card this Monday. The transfer comes with a 3.5 per cent fee - £35 on a £1,000 transfer - but there will be a partial refund against this which reduces it to 3.2 per cent, or £32 on £1,000. It will also come with 0 per cent interest on purchases for six months, and a typical APR of 18.9 per cent.   More... The best balance transfer deals to help you clear New Year deb

/li> 1 comments The latest move in the increasingly predictable game of tit-for-tat being played by Britain's personal loan providers was made by the Derbyshire Building Society today. Coming three weeks after Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks announced a market-leading 5.1 per cent Representative APR rate on loans between £7,500 and £15,000, the Derbyshire has announced it will be matching that rate for its online customers. The rate is available to 51 per cent of successful applicants on loans of between one and five years which are taken out with via www.thederbyshire.co.uk or through a comparison website. Price matched: The Derbyshire Building Society has matched Clydesdale Bank's market-leading personal loan rate. This would mean a £10,000 loan taken out over five years would result in £11,350.25 being paid back at £189.17 a month. Banks and building society have been locked in battle over personal loan rates for the past year, which has seen the rates dro

/li> 2 comments A week-long 'sale' at the Derbyshire Building Society will see mid-range personal loans on offer at a market-leading interest rate of just 5 per cent. The offer is now available until 11pm next Monday, February 25, and improves on the Derbyshire's current market-leading offer of 5.1 per cent (APR representative) on loans between £7,500 and £14,999 on loans between one and five years. This would see a person taking out a £10,000 loan over five years having to repay £11,322.74 at a rate of £188.71 a month. Market leading offer: The Derbyshire Building Society is offering personal loans for 5 per cent APR until Monday. Derbyshire BS, which is part of the Nationwide Group, has been one of the main movers in the loan price wars that have been ongoing for over a year now. Five per cent is now the lowest rate seen in at least the last 10 years and with the Government's Funding for Lending scheme allowing banks to obtain cash at interest rate

/li> 1 comments Payday loan borrowers are being targeted by a high-interest credit card, promising to ease their debt woes. Capital One’s Balance Plus card allows you to pay money from it directly into your bank account. You can then use this money to pay off  high-interest debts. There is a 3 per cent fee for this — so if you transferred £200, you’d be charged £6. Candid Money: 'This new card may be a lifeline for many, but if they struggle to meet payments, their debts will still mount' If you take out the card before the end of March, there is no interest to pay until July. In theory, this will allow you to slash the amount you owe. After this, interest will kick in at 34.9 per cent. However, calculations by the website Candid Money show that the card would still work out cheaper than overdrafts and payday loans. For example, someone who borrowed £200 on the card and paid back £5 a month would pay £30 in interest over six months — excluding any

/li> 0 comments Credit card providers continue to better their offers to balance transfer customers, with Fluid the latest firm to extend its zero interest period. Last month saw market leader Barclaycard announce the longest ever interest-free period on a balance transfer card with 26 months on its Platinum product. Other providers have been increasingly pushing the boundaries as they look to bring in new customers, offering them ever longer periods to get themselves out of credit card debt without incurring any extra interest. New offer: Fluid has increased its balance transfer zero interest period to 24 months. Fluid has increased its 23-month 0 per cent balance transfer card to 24 months, with those transferring from credit cards having to pay a 2.89 per cent fee (£28.90 from a £1,000 transfer). It betters the 24-month products offered by RBS and Natwest, which have 2.9 per cent fees, but Barclaycard and Halifax offer 25-month zero interest cards with lower fees

/li> 6 shares 4 comments A triple whammy of rate cuts by Tesco Bank has sent it thundering up the best buy tables for personal loans. The bank has slashed the cost of its low, mid and high range personal loans which can be taken out over a period ranging from one to 10 years, depending on what the loan is used for. The biggest cut has come in loans ranging from £5,000 to £7,499, which has seen its rate cut from 7.8 per cent to 7 per cent APR Representative, the second best rate around after the 6.9 per cent offered by Sainsbury's Bank and Santander. Rate cuts: Tesco Bank has reduced the cost of all of its personal loan products. This means someone taking out a £6,000 loan over three years will now have to pay back £79.29 less. Meanwhile mid-range loans between £7,500 and £15,000, typically the bellweather of the UK loan market, have been reduced from 5.2 per cent to 5.1 per cent APR Representative, equal with market leaders Sainsbury's Bank, Clydesdale

/li> 15 shares 5 comments Those struggling with credit card debts can now buy themselves 26 months of time to pay back what they owe without accruing any extra interest. Barclaycard has once again outstripped the competition by increasing the 0 per cent interest period on its Platinum balance transfer card by an extra month. It wrested back the mantle of 'market-leading 0 per cent balance transfer card' from Tesco Bank, which held it for a matter of hours yesterday when it revealed a 25-month 0 per cent period with a lower fee than Barclaycard's on its Tesco Clubcard Credit Card. Balance transfer: Barclaycard is offering its longest-ever interest-free balance transfer period at 26 months. Barclaycard's 26-month card comes with a 3.5 per cent fee, meaning you would pay £35 to transfer over £1,000 from other credit cards. Any amount you transfer must not exceed 90 per cent of the credit limit on the card. Tesco Bank's comes with a 2.9 per

/li> 1 comments Shoppers have been warned to look beyond enticing introductory offers to ensure they get long-term benefits from store cards and retailer-branded credit cards. There are good deals to be had for savvy shoppers with reward points, cashback store vouchers and discounts all on offer, but doing your research rather than making a spur-of-the-moment decision at the till can reap its rewards. Moneysupermarket said consumers will get much better deals from supermarket credit card products compared to store cards, which typically charge interest at much higher rates than major credit card providers, at around 29.9 per cent. Better deal: Supermarket-branded credit cards offer better rates and rewards than store specific cards. The best buy supermarket credit cards have typical interest rates of around 16.9 per cent, the same as some and better than many High Street banks. They come with the usual introductory offers designed to lure customers in, but those wit

/li> 0 comments Advertising feature Credit rating: What does yours reveal How to improve and protect your credit ratingWhat’s in your credit report? Your credit report is essentially an overview of your borrowing behaviour - a personal history of the credit you’ve had, from mobile phone accounts to mortgages and more, and lenders use it to help decide if you'll be able to make new repayments on time. There’s information that confirms your identity - such as electoral roll details - information about previous credit applications you’ve made, and there’s financial information, such as a list of your credit accounts and repayments.  They may not expect you to have a perfect credit report, but they do want to know that you will make repayments on time and that you aren’t already over-stretched. It’s best to check that your credit report is accurate and up to date – to give yourself the best chance of getting credit, getting the deals you want, and to help protect you

/li> 0 comments This credit card calculator can throw up some shocking results. See your payments and see what happens if you've been lured into taking a credit card with a low-interest introductory offer that has expired, forcing you to paying higher rates for longer, much longer. TABLES: Best balance transfer credit cards Credit Card Reality Check Calculator Warning: This calculator does not factor in the time it would take to repay a credit card debt where the minimum payment is calculated as a percentage. Your plastic debt This calculator will show you just how long it's going to take you to clear your credit card balance if you don't wake up, face reality, stop paying the bare minimum and start clearing this punitive form of debt. Your credit card balance: £ Interest rate: % Monthly payment: £ Calculate Result Number of monthly payments: Clear your debt quickly Now see how much you need to pay a month to clear your bal

/li> 98 comments For the past three years, Nellie Morley has taken her two daughters to the South of France — for almost nothing. Mrs Morley, a former property worker, is not a whizz at competitions. Neither is she lucky in prize draws. Rather, she is simply a savvy spender. That’s because Mrs Morley tries to make sure every pound she spends earns her loyalty Avios points — 27,000 to be precise. Once she has enough, she cashes them in for flights to Nice, which allows her to take daughters Jessica, 13, and Alex, ten, off on holiday. In the money: Nellie Morley and her daughters Jess, 13, left, and Alex, 10, right, pictured at their home in Chiswick, go to the South of France every year for virtually nothing thanks to savvy saving Holiday for free: Being clever with your credit card can mean big rewards such as annual holidays to Nice, in France, like the Morley family To build up this huge balance of points, Mrs Morley uses her Lloyds TSB Duo Avios American

/li> 14 shares 0 comments DON'T MISS: Latest info and advice - catches to watch out for and the best ratesTODAY'S TOP DEALS... ...See our full best rates table Loan Repayment Calculator This calculator shows what your monthly payments would be for a given loan, where interest is compounded monthly. Payment protection insurance is excluded.

/li> 0 comments A personal loan is what it says: a loan for you to spend as you wish. It could be for a car, home improvements, or even to pay off credit card bills in one go, allowing you to spread the repayments over a longer time at a lower interest rate. Here are the key issues to consider when choosing which loan to take out. Confused: Are you looking for a personal loan? We explain how to apply Borrowing limits You can generally get up to £15,000 - but some lenders offer up to £25,000. You can often get approval in principle over the phone with the money available in just a few days. Loan terms Some lenders will give you a loan for as short a period as six months, although a year is more common. The maximum length is usually seven years, although some firms will lend over ten. Personal loans make the most sense for people who want to repay something over a few years. If you only need the money over six months using your credit card probably makes more s

/li> 0 comments As a nation we have fallen in love with credit over the last decade. If you are thinking of getting a credit card, you may find the huge variety of deals available overwhelming. Here are the key issues to consider before choosing or changing your card. Do your research: Multiple applications can hurt your credit score The best card for you Before taking out a credit card you should think about what you need it for. There are many different types of credit cards on the market, from balance transfers to cards which give you cashback in return for spending. We're rounded up the top five types of cards, so you can work out one is best for you. 0 per cent purchase What is it: 0 per cent interest on any spending you do on the card for a limited time. After this period the interest you pay will drastically rise. Best for: Anyone wanting to buy a large item and pay it off within the interest free period. Balance transfer What is it: This card

/li> 7 shares 7 comments Store cards can be tempting for shoppers as they offer money off purchases and a host of other benefits - but they rarely offer good value for borrowing. For those who can afford to pay off their balance each month it can be worth taking advantage of the benefits of store cards. Cash-conscious shoppers on the hunt for discounts can save as much as 20 per cent on purchases by using them. But, of course, many people don't end up clearing the debt in full and that's how the card operators make their money. Christmas shopping: Store cards offer discounts to lure in cash-strapped shoppers If you find yourself lumbered with debts on store cards, here we explain how to move them to a cheaper rate and get it paid off more quickly. And for those interested in taking advantage of the benefits of store cards, we explain how to negotiate the small print and avoid paying potentially hundreds of pounds in fees. High Street store card fees -

/li> 379 shares 77 comments Dozens of fraud victims who had Wonga loans taken in their names and saw their bank accounts raided for more than £30,000 have been met with a wall of silence by the lender. This is Money has been investigating fraudulent loans taken through Wonga after it was contacted for help on 41 similar cases - but the payday lender refuses to explain how and why the fraud is occurring, or to provide proof that cases have been reported to the police. Details of the victims have now been passed to the Office of Fair Trading and officials are now looking at the cases as part of their on-going investigation into the payday lending industry.    Steady stream: A total of 41 readers have emailed This is Money about Wonga fraud. Of most concern is how fraudsters manage to cash in on loans that someone else ends up responsible for, how loans are granted with seemingly minimal personal details and whether every case is being officially reported. Most

/li> 13 shares 9 comments Barclaycard has been accused of putting profits before customer's well-being by automatically increasing credit limits and running the risk of encouraging customers into further debt and unmanageable finances. The UK's biggest credit card provider has been automatically increasing credit limits, giving customers 30 days to opt-out of the rise or else be automatically opted-in, The Times newspaper reported. Francesca Toma, of the debt charity StepChange, said: 'Credit card debt is one of the main contributors to debt problems in the UK and we are seeing a number of cases where banks are automatically increasing credit card limits. Enlarge   Worrying: Barclaycard, the UK's biggest credit card provider, has been accused of seducing customers into debt 'This is a serious concern because it further undermines the position of many financially vulnerable households.' It is expected of banks to check their custo

/li> 8 shares 4 comments We paid off the majority of the balance on our Asda card by the payment due date of March 11, so we were left with a remaining balance of just £100. However, when we received a card bill recently we noticed an interest charge of £16.69, which we were very surprised at as surely the interest at the monthly rate of 1.876% on £100 should be £1.88. When we complained we were told that the interest was charged on the original balance owing and not he remaining outstanding balance, and they said this was set out in the terms and conditions.  Are we being ripped off? S.B Terms and conditions: Average daily balance information is set out in credit card T&Cs, but some people still get caught out. Adam Uren, of This is Money, said: The first thing that should be noted is that Asda has agreed to waive the £16.69 charge on your account after it was contacted by This is Money, so you won't have to pay any interest at all for that bill. The

/li> 4 comments Supermarket rewards cards can help you save money – and get free stuff – simply by spending the cash you were planning on spending anyway. Deciding on the best option for you will obviously depend on where you like to shop. But if you have a choice of supermarkets it is worth weighing up the various offers to find where you can save the most money. The first thing to remember is that you must read the small print – while many supermarkets run a rewards scheme, all have their own system and points value. In fact, some rewards schemes offer points worth next to nothing - a ploy used by brands to encourage shoppers to spend more, with sometimes just a few pence to show for it. So stay savvy. Regardless, if you shop regularly at one place it is usually worth getting a rewards card anyway to ensure you are maximising your money. Supermarket shopping: Make sure you make the most of your spending Tesco Tesco's reward scheme offers the best value per poi

/li> 75 shares 0 comments If your finances are in a mess, now is the time to take control. Read our ten-step guide to getting back into the black. Worries: How to get out of debt and back into the black Step one: Work it out Sit down and work out exactly how much you owe and who you owe it to. Be honest or you'll only store up more problems for the future. If your debt repayments take more than 20 per cent of your net monthly income you are entering a danger zone and must take steps to cut back. Step two: Budget Once you know how much you owe you can draw up a budget, including a schedule for repaying your debts. Be realistic and work out what you can afford to repay and still stay within your budget. Step three: Be disciplined Don't borrow any more money or take on any more debts until you have repaid what you already owe. Step four: Watch your daily spending Take a set amount of money out of the bank at the beginning of the week and giv

/li> 11 comments Sainsbury's Bank has launched two 5 per cent cashback credit cards with low charges. The Low Rate Nectar Credit Card rewards customers who shop at Sainsbury's with five times the number of Nectar points for three months. This is equivalent to 5 per cent off your bill, the supermarket says. Following this introductory bonus, customers get 2 per cent back on shopping in store, and extra Nectar points at the supermarket's petrol stations. Money back: Using Sainsbury's credit cards will give you significant rewards in store during introductory periods. Its other card, called Low Rate Cashback Credit Card, gives 5 per cent cashback on Sainsbury's shopping for three months, up to a maximum of £1,000 a month.   More... The best credit cards for spending, holidays, rewards or clearing your debts The best rewards cards for cashback, points and perks Find the best credit card deal Save on your supermarket shop: The best rewards cards for