The Rate Tart

<< back

It may seem like a long time until Christmas. But with credit card companies taking up to 6 weeks to process new applications, now is the time to take a look at what's in your wallet. Having the wrong plastic could mean your festive spending leaves you with a serious new year hangover.

To find the best Christmas Credit Card for your needs read on.

It may seem like a long time until Christmas. But with credit card companies taking up to 6 weeks to process new applications, now is the time to take a look at what's in your wallet. Having the wrong plastic could mean your festive spending leaves you with a serious new year hangover.

To find the best Christmas Credit Card for your needs read on.

If you are sure you can pay off any spending straight away, go for a cash back or rewards deal. These offer you either cash or points as a percentage of your spending. Typically points can be spent on money off flights, shopping, holidays and other treats.

At time of writing the best cash back deal on the market is the Capital One Cashback Card, offering 4% cash-back for the first 3 months. Whilst the MBNA Sony Card is offering a free MP3 Player to new customers for a limited period.

For those of you planning to pay for Christmas over a few years, go for a 0% interest on purchases credit card. These effectively provide you with an interest free loan for the duration of the 0% offer. As these often come packages with a 0% on balance transfers offer, you may also want to consider transferring any existing credit card debt to avoid paying the standard APR. At present one of the best 0% on purchases credit cards is the Capital One Platinum Card, with an interest free period running up to August 2008.

Whichever card you go for, remember to spend sensibly and ensure you are able to comfortably afford the minimum repayments. It is all too easily to go on a festive splurge for family and friends. But just one missed repayment could see your credit rating take a nose dive, making it difficult to borrow money in future.