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By David Stevens Personal Finance Correspondent
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
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CHRISTMAS is just 4 weeks away which means, if you want to make use of a credit card to ease the burden of the annual spend-fest, you need to compare credit cards and apply immediately.
Since credit card applications take around 2 weeks all in, and keeping in mind the inevitable demand on credit card companies leading up to Christmas, you need to apply for the right card within the next few days to be sure of getting your credit card in time to do some Christmas shopping.
While we strongly advocate that Christmas is a time to be especially cautious with what you spend (especially on a credit card), there are a number of credit cards which – used correctly – can significantly ease the burden of Christmas expenses.
Over the last few weeks we have singled out a number of credit cards that could be a real benefit this year:
Cash Back credit cards
The months running up to Christmas are a bonanza for retailers (perhaps less so this year, but still significant) as this is the period we spend more than ever.
So it makes sense that if you’re going to be spending, you should earn something back.
A cash back credit card does just that.
Unfortunately, cash back credit cards are extremely thin on the ground at the moment and you don’t even need to compare cash back credit cards: there is only one!
The American Express Platinum credit card offers 5% cashback on the first £4000 you spend in the first 3 months.
It drops to between 0.5% to 1.5% thereafter.
This effectively will give you a 5% discount on everything you buy this Christmas.
Naturally you will need to pay off your purchases in full and on time to receive the cash-back. Failure to do that will see you stung with an 18.9% APR.
This cash back credit card is only available to those whose household income exceeds £20,000 and you’ll have to have a good credit score.
 Apply for the American Express Platinum cash back credit card now!
Zero Percent Interest on Purchases credit cards
If you don’t think you’ll be able to pay off all your Christmas shopping when your credit card statement drops through the letterbox at the end of January, you should take advantage of credit cards offering 0% on purchases.
These 0% introductory rates last as long as 6 months.
This means you can pay off your Christmas shopping over 10 months without paying a penny in interest.
Unfortunately the best credit cards offering zero percent interest on purchases for longer periods than 6 months have been all recently been pulled leaving a handful of so-so cards to choose from.
The top dogs include the Capital One Low Rate Balance Transfer credit card
which offers 0% until May 2009 and the Virgin Money credit card which promises 0% interest on your purchases for 6 months.
A note of caution: while you will not be required to pay any interest on your purchases for the length of the introductory period, you will still be required to make minimum payments on the amount owed.
Apply for the Capital One Low Rate Balance Transfer credit card now!
Credit Cards offering retail rewards
Not quite as glamorous nor as useful as a cash back credit card or a credit card offering 0% on purchases, there are some credit cards which offer significant discounts or rewards if you use the credit card at a particular outlet.
For example, the Virgin Money credit card offers discounts on all Virgin products including Virgin Wines, Virgin Holidays and anything bought at a Virgin Megastore (now Zavvi).
Alternatively, if you’re doing your Christmas shopping at Sainsbury’s, use a Nectar credit card which gives you 4 Nectar points per Pound spent alongside 5000 bonus Nectar points when you spend £200 in the first 3 months.
Apply for the Nectar credit card now!
But hurry…
If you want to take advantage of any of the credit cards in this piece, you need to apply now (you can do it from any of the links on this page).
This will give the card company enough time to process your application and send out your card, leaving you with a couple of weeks to use the card on your Christmas shopping.
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