Although it’s not the longest interest-free balance transfer deal available from Sainsbury’s, this card comes with the added appeal of having a low transfer fee, or no fee at all for some customers: handy if you’re bringing across a hefty balance.
14 months
0% interest on balance transfers
0%
Balance transfer fee
23.9%
Representative APR
£0
Account fee
| Issuer | Sainsbury's Bank |
|---|---|
| Network | Mastercard |
| Annual/monthly fees | £0 |
| Balance transfers | 0% for 14 months reverting to 23.95% |
| Balance transfer fee | 0% 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.
Used sensibly, a low fee balance transfer deal can give you the breathing space to clear your credit card debt. If Sainsbury’s Bank’s very respectable interest-free period gives you long enough to pay off your debt (divide your outstanding debt by the number of months to see what you’d need to pay each month), that’s ideal.
If not, you have two options: you can either find a card with a longer 0% interest period and pay a fee for it (just remember to factor in the fee when you’re doing the sum above), or you can stick with Sainsbury’s (or another fee-free card) for now and switch your remaining balance to another balance transfer card at the end of the interest-free period. The second option does run the risk that you won’t be able to find a decent balance transfer deal at that point.
One complication of the Sainsbury’s card is that not all customers will be eligible for the fee-free option or the full advertised interest-free period: depending on your circumstances, once you apply you may be offered a 1% fee and/or a shorter interest-free period instead. It’s up to you whether to take that risk, or opt for a guaranteed fee-free card that might come with a shorter interest-free period.
What else does this Sainsbury’s card offer? New customers can also take a break from interest on purchases for 3 months, so if clearing debt is the long-term goal but further spending in the short-term is unavoidable, you’re covered.
As well as earning Nectar points each time you shop or re-fuel at Sainsbury’s, there’s a very appealing introductory bonus Nectar points offer. What’s more, the points you earn using a Sainsbury’s Bank credit card are in addition to the points you earn when you hand over or swipe your regular old Nectar card.
As with most balance transfer deals, there is a pretty punishing revert rate on this card. Once your 0% period has expired (by which point that Nectar welcome bonus will be a distant memory) any outstanding debt will suddenly become quite expensive. At that point, unless you’ve managed to clear your full balance, it’ll likely be time to switch.
Approval for any credit card depends 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 14 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 14 Month No Balance Transfer Fee 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.
If you’re approved, make sure you read the offer carefully to confirm whether you have been offered the 0% fee deal, and for how long.
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 14 Month No Balance Transfer Fee 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).
Non-sterling transactions are subject to a 2.75% charge. For example, if you spend 200 euros (£173.04), it'll cost you around £4.76 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.