21 months
0% interest on balance transfers
23.9%
Representative APR
£0
Account fee
Up to 5,000 points
Intro bonus
| Issuer | Sainsbury's Bank |
|---|---|
| Network | Mastercard |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Balance transfers | 0% for 21 months reverting to 23.95% |
| Balance transfer fee | 1% (min. £3) for 3 months reverting to 3% (min. £3) |
| Purchases | 0% for 3 months reverting to 23.95% |
| Purchases interest-free period | Up to 56 days |
| Money transfers | 25.95% |
| Cash advances | 25.95% |
| Minimum credit limit | £0 |
| Maximum credit limit | Subject to status |
| Additional cards available | 1 |
| Incentive | Earn 1 Nectar point per £2 spent in Sainsbury's and Argos, and 1 Nectar point for every £5 spent elsewhere. Additional points can be earned by also using the Nectar card or app at the time of transaction. 1 point = 0.5p (min 500pts) |
| Potential costs | ★★★★★ |
| Doing its job | ★★★★★ |
| Extras | ★★★★★ |
| Overall Finder rating | ★★★★★ |
Review by
Chris Lilly is a publisher at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more.
Slotting into the middle of Sainsbury’s Bank’s range of balance transfer deals, this card offers a 21-month window in which you won’t pay interest on your transferred balance in return for a reduced balance transfer fee (which is a percentage of the balance you wish to transfer).
Naturally, when seeking to clear existing card debt, you should look for no-transfer-fee deals first. The trouble is that these tend to not have the longest 0% interest periods. If you really need as long as possible at 0%, then a transfer fee might be worth swallowing.
Sainsbury’s Bank specifies that some applicants may be offered a shorter 0% period, depending on individual circumstances (typically if you have a limited or less-than-perfect credit history).
Like all Sainsbury’s cards, this offer comes with the opportunity to earn Nectar points. Transferred balances won’t earn Nectar points though, only additional spending will. So if your main objective is clearing your card debt, try not to be tempted into using your card to make purchases, just to collect a few points. Once the 21 months are up, any outstanding balance will start to accrue interest at the card’s standard rate of 23.9% (that’s a variable rate, so it may well have moved by that point).
Approval for any credit card will depend on your status. The representative APRs shown represent the interest rate offered to most successful applicants. Depending on your personal circumstances the APR you're offered may be higher, or you may not be offered credit at all. Fees and rates are subject to change without notice. It's always wise to check the terms of any deal before you borrow.
You can make manual repayments through Sainsbury's Bank's app by logging in to your online banking or over the phone (08085 40 50 60). Alternatively, you may wish to set up a direct debit.
A direct debit protects you from forgetting to make a repayment and losing your promotional interest rate as a result (as well as damaging your credit score and incurring the late payment fee of £12). You could use a fixed-amount direct debit to ensure you've cleared your debt before the 0% period expires – simply divide your outstanding balance by 21 to see what you'll need to pay each month (this assumes you don't use the card for additional spending).
You can arrange a direct debit for repayments when you apply for the credit card. The table below shows the options available.
| Minimum amount | Fixed amount | Fixed percentage | Full amount |
|---|---|---|---|
If you've compared cards and settled on the Sainsbury's Bank 21 Month Balance Transfer Credit Card, completing the secure online application form takes about 15 minutes. Before you apply, check that you meet the eligibility requirements and have the information and documents you'll need to make the process as straightforward as possible. You can request a balance transfer as part of your application.
Although it's possible, withdrawing cash from a credit card account is generally not a good idea, as "cash-like transactions" (such as withdrawing cash at an ATM, getting cashback at the till, spending at a casino or buying currency) often incur steep fees and/or higher rates of interest.
The cash advance fee on the Sainsbury's Bank 21 Month Balance Transfer Credit Card is 3% (min. £3). For example, if you withdraw £50, you'll incur a fee of £3.00. Withdraw £250 and you'll incur a fee of £7.50.
The interest rate on this part of your balance will be 25.95%, which is 9% more than the standard purchase rate (chargeable from the day of the transaction – the card's usual "up to 56 days interest-free" grace period won't apply).
Transferring a balance doesn't automatically close your old account. In most cases, you'll want to close the old account(s) straightaway, especially if they have an annual/monthly fee or if you might be tempted to use them in the future. There is an argument that you should keep the old account open to help your credit score. That's because doing so keeps your "credit utilisation ratio" lower (that's a measure of how much credit you're using compared to what's available to you) and helps the average age of your credit accounts. However, unless you're just about to apply for a new mortgage, it's probably fair to say that most people would prefer to have no more bank accounts open than was truly necessary.
Non-sterling transactions are subject to a 2.75% charge. For example, if you spend 200 euros (£175.81), it'll cost you around £4.83 in fees.
Each month you must pay at least 2.25% of your balance at that point or £5.00 – whichever of the 2 figures is greater. So if you had, say, £200.00 outstanding, you'd pay £5.00, and if you had £888.89 outstanding, you'd pay £20.00.
Paying only the minimum required amount each month is generally not advisable as it makes it much harder to get debt-free before that introductory 0% period expires.
Yes. That's what's known as a "money transfer" (rather than a "balance transfer") in credit card jargon. You can arrange this from your online banking or using Sainsbury's Bank's app. This part of your card balance will incur interest of 25.95%. The fee for a money transfer is 0%.
Yes, you can request one more. There's no fee for additional cards. Plus, with additional cards, you could earn Nectar points at a faster rate. Bear in mind that card debt accrued by additional cardholders is the sole responsibility of the account holder – not the additional cardholder.
Our experts score balance transfer cards to determine their value against similar products on the market. We look at a number of important factors, like the length of the balance transfer offer, the balance transfer fee, any restrictions to making a transfer, plus the potential costs involved with running the card both in the short and longer term.
You can read more about our scoring criteria on our credit card methodology page.