Interest free credit cards - 9 or 12 months

An interest free credit card means that you are not charged any interest on your card for a set period of time - usually between 9 and 12 months. This offer usually works in one of two ways - either you pay no interest on any purchases that you make until the promotional offer ends, or you pay no interest on balance transfers made before the offer ends. With some cards, both benefits will apply.

By avoiding interest charges on your purchases, you will be able to buy items that you would otherwise have had to save for. Bear in mind that as soon as the rate returns to normal, any balance that remains will incur charges. It is therefore wise to try to repay the entire balance before the special rate expires.

There are well over fifty credit cards currently available that offer interest-free deals on balance transfers. This means that you can clear the balance on your existing card by moving it to another creditor. The money you owe is then exempt from interest charges for a set period, usually five to six months. This period will allow to you to repay some of the money you owe, without any of it being gobbled up by APR. In other words, any money you pay back will directly reduce your balance.

As soon as the introductory period ends, the rate of interest will return to the card issuer's standard rate. When transferring your balances, always try to find a credit card with a low standard rate. By doing this, you will avoid being stung by hefty charges as soon as you have to pay interest again.

One way of avoiding charges altogether once the introductory period is over, is to transfer the balance to yet another interest free credit card. If you keep doing this, you will find that you are able to repay your debt much more quickly.

If you'd rather stick to one credit card instead of changing every few months, you may want to consider a card that offers a low APR for the life of the balance that you transfer. This means that the interest rate stays the same until the day the entire amount is paid off. A growing number of card providers are starting to offer this facility, some at a rate of as low as 3.9% APR.