Post Office Credit Cards
When we think of the Post Office, we tend to think of letters and parcels. But the Post Office also sells a range of financial services, including insurance, savings accounts and credit cards. More recently, it has even launched a home telephone service.
The Post Office is a trusted brand name and the company, which is owned by the Royal Mail Group, has gone from strength to strength. Over the last five years, it has attracted more than two million customers. It has, for example, about 700,000 car and home insurance policies. It is also the UK’s leading supplier of foreign currency, with a chunky 25% market share. In fact, the Post Office is now bigger than all of the UK’s banks and building societies put together, partly because of its extensive branch network.
The Post Office credit card is among its most popular products, particularly if you want to switch a debt from another credit or store card that charges a high rate of interest.
You can apply for the card if you earn at least £15,000 a year and you will pay 0% interest on balance transfers for 14 months. Let’s say you have built up a debt of £1,000 on a credit card that charges a high interest rate. You could transfer the outstanding balance to the Post Office card and pay no interest on the balance for over a year. If you set up a direct debit to make sure the debt was cleared before the 0% period expired, you would be quids in.
The Post Office also charges 0% for five months on new balance transfers on the second and third anniversary of the date you took out the card.
The card does not levy an annul fee, but there is a balance transfer fee of 2.98% of the outstanding balance.
People who are tempted to spend on the card need not bust their budget either. The card charges 0% interest on purchases for three months. It’s not as long as the 0% deal on balance transfers, but it could help you to manage your finances.
The card is also useful if you are planning a trip abroad. There is no commission on purchases overseas and no cash advance fee if you buy Post Office travel money with your card.
The typical standard interest rate on the Classic card is 16.9% APR, although the rate you pay will depend on your credit status.
You can check out all the details of the Post Office credit card using MoneySupermarket’s comparison service. You can even apply for the card online through our user-friendly website.
Post Office Credit Card is provided by Bank of Ireland UK
Glossary of terms
APR
This stands for Annual Percentage Rate. Any firm that lends money is required by law to quote the APR. Introductory rates do not include arrangement fees you may be charged and also don’t reflect any higher rate of interest that your borrowings will ultimately revert to. The APR takes into account the interest on a loan plus and additional charges making it easier for you to compare products. In general, the lower the APR the better the deal.
Balance Transfer
Balance transfer rates are applied to existing card debt that is being moved from one issuer to another or a consolidation of other debts. These rates tend to be lower than standard rates and apply to the debt transferred or consolidated for a specified term or until it is repaid in full.
Credit Card
Credit cards are a form of borrowing used to purchase goods and services, to obtain cash advances and for consolidating debt.
Direct Debit
This allows an organisation to take money directly from a persons bank account
Minimum payment
The amount you must pay each month to keep your account in order
Interest-free period
The time between when you buy something on the card and the date when you must pay your monthly bill. This can be 50 days or more and is interest-free. So if you settle your bill in full every month, it's free borrowing.
Promotional Rate
A rate that is applied to your account until a given expiry date. Thereafter it will revert to the rate applicable to your account at that time.
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Representative Example: If you spend £1,200 at a purchase interest rate of 16.9% (variable) your Representative APR will be 16.9% (variable).