O% credit card deals were ten a penny a couple of years back, but such deals seemed to have all but dried up recently so I was keen to take advantage of the 0% for 15 months deal that the Tesco Clubcard credit card was offering.

~~The application process~~

This was really straightforward, you can apply online and you get a decision pretty much straight away. They ask you about your annual income and your employer's postcode and address and your current account details. I think I received my card within a week or so of applying and then a few days later they sent the details needed to monitor the account online.

~~Benefits~~

The card acts as a Tesco clubcard as well as a credit card. This means that you get clubcard points in the same way as you would with a standard clubcard for all spending within Tesco stores. In addition, you also receive 1 point for every £4 spent outside of Tesco stores. This means we can shop around and buy our shopping wherever's cheapest (often Asda or Morrisons) and still get Tesco Clubcard points! The Clubcard points can then be redeemed either against shopping or for offers giving up to 3 times the value of the points.

You get all the usual benefits from using a credit card including protection against fraud and the ability to build up a good credit history if used wisely. In addition, if you are good at managing your spending, you can take advantage of the interest-free period on this card by using it for all routine spending and investing this money in a savings account to accrue interest until the interest-free period is over when you simply pay the balance off and keep the interest gained. You can set up a direct debit to make the minimum payment each month.

~~Online service~~

You can monitor your clubcard credit card account online at tescobank.com. You select a username, internet PIN and internet password and log in through the credit card option. The first screen you see is an account summary, showing your credit limit, current balance and credit available. You can then view all your transactions since your last statement as well as all statements from the past 18 months. These are in PDF format and can be downloaded and saved to your PC for reference.

You can also make payments to your credit card using a debit card, set up regular payments, view a history of your online payments, transfer a balance to your Tesco credit card and set up text alerts on your account.

~~Summary~~

This is a great credit card which gives a long interest free period on purchases as well as Clubcard points on spending at Tesco and elsewhere. Internet banking makes managing the account really straightforward. Can't fault it.