Long Term Value From A 0% Credit Card! (Halifax Classic Credit Cards)

Member Name: opinions4u

Product:	Halifax Classic Credit Cards
Date:	24/10/02 (605 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interest Free Period, Cheap long term rate, Upto 59 Days to Pay

Disadvantages: No cashback, £25,000 salary qualification, Has to be operated online

The search for a value for money credit card in evolutionary man has been refined to a fine art by many. Switching from 0% deal to 0% deal is a popular past time for a large part of the population. But for most, it is a nuisance. And the credit card industry rakes in £millions from those of us who cannot be bothered.

Which is where the Halifax comes in with their new internet only credit card found at www.h2x.co.uk. With an introductory rate of 0% for 5 months (on balance transfers only) and a standard rate of 9.9% for purchases and balance transfers that fall outside the introductory offer, it does seem exceptionally good value. So, what is the catch?

Well, you have to manage the account online. No branches to fall back on, with call centre contact charged at premium rates and paper statements costing £3 a time. You and your PC are the only cost effective way to run this account, and you are allowed to email them! Indeed, they email you your statement! And there is a security guarantee that protects you from fraud losses. Most readers of this review should be comfortable with this.

You also have to earn £25,000 a year or more. So, mere mortals cannot benefit!

There is no cashback available, so for those who pay their balance in full there are other cards in the Halifax range that are better. Indeed, the likes Of Goldfish are better still!

Other nice frills are the same as the rest of the Halifax credit card range (www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards), such as up to 59 days to pay your bill (longer than most of the market), 100 days of insurance against theft or damage to goods purchased on the card and £100,000 of Travel Accident Insurance if you buy your tickets with the card. Remember, you have to lose a couple of legs to claim on this insurance and it does not replace real travel insurance. Again, Halifax provide £250,000 of cover on their Platinum Card range, so your low rate here is subsidised by a loss of ov
er half this benefit!

You can pay £15 a year for Card Protection Insurance for you and all those who live with you. Illness and redundancy cover, though slightly expensive at 78p per £100 covered, does pay 10% of your balance each month if you have to claim. This is significantly better than similar insurance provided by others in the credit card industry and, if you are a taker of such cover, is far better value than the benefits paid out by the likes of MBNA.

There is no annual fee. You can select your own PIN number for cash machine withdrawals. You do have to make the minimum payment by direct debit (thus avoiding £20 late payment fees) and if you use the lovely convenience cheques that they send you, you pay the full 9.9% rate PLUS a 1.5% handling fee. Useable in the UK and overseas, foreign currency transaction cost an additional 2.75%, like much of the credit card market. If you are a regular overseas card user, try the free offerings of Nationwide!

Should you have one? If you earn £25k plus, have a balance owing on a more expensive card and cannot be bothered switching your card every few months, this is exceptionally good value, as long as you are happy to remain online to manage the account. If you clear your balance in full, there are better deals out there, including many from the Halifax. If you are happy to change cards 3 times a year and switch your balance around, again, this is not for you.

It is, however, good to see a major high street bank offering something of value beyond the special offer period. They seem to be getting quite good at it.

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