Sainsbury’s has extended its financial product offering with the launch of a new low-rate credit card.
The new card comes with an interest rate of 6.9 per cent on new purchases and balance transfers, and has no balance transfer fee. The APR is the lowest currently available in the market and is only the third sub-7 per cent credit card to be released in the UK in the past four years.
To qualify for the market-leading product, customers will need to have a Nectar Card and a strong credit rating .
The launch comes after research from Sainsbury’s Credit Cards found that the number of cards offering a standard long-term APR – ones that offer a lower rate over the long term without any introductory 0 per cent offers – has declined by 35 per cent since 2007, despite the base rate remaining at a record low.
According to the findings, there are now just four cards on the market offering rates below 10 per cent APR on purchases, compared to 14 five years ago.
In addition, the number of cards offering attractive long-term rates (below 10 per cent), with no introductory offers, on balance transfers has fallen from 16 to just six over the past five years.
Stuart McKeggie, Head of Sainsburys Credit Cards, said: “Customers choosing a credit card must remember to be realistic about what will happen to their rate at the end of the introductory offer.
“There are so many introductory offers available today and many people may think this is the best option for them but that might not necessarily be the case.
“It’s important to think about your card usage and consider the benefits of introductory offers against the benefits of cards with good standard long-term rates; in many cases the latter could make more financial sense and be more convenient.”
