Are you unsure of the kind of credit card you would like to search for?

Look over our guide to various types of credit cards on the market, then search and compare with confidence in what you want from your credit card.

0% (Interest free) Credit Cards

If you wish to make a major purchase by credit card and then spread the payment on it over several months without paying large sums of interest on it, you could apply for a card offering 0% interest on purchases. If you plan on using an interest free credit card make sure you are aware of the length of the 0% interest offer.

You could budget to pay off the full amount before having to pay any interest on it. One good way of being sure to pay off the card is to set up a monthly direct debit. For example, if you were to buy something for £600 with a card offering interest free credit for 6 months you would set up a monthly direct debit of £100 per month to pay off the balance before the interest free rate expires.

If you did fail to clear the full amount before interest payments were due to begin, or if you have a balance on other cards that you are paying interest on you may want to look at a Balance Transfer. If you do not clear or transfer the balance on your card before the offer period expires, you will pay interest on the balance at the full APR.

Balance Transfers

If you are carrying forward a balance on one or more cards and paying interest you can now take the option of switching the debt to a new card offering 0% on balance transfers.

When searching for a balance transfer card it's important to check the length of the interest free offer, as well as any balance transfer fees there may be. Some card providers can charge up to 3% of your total debt to transfer the balance, although it's worth taking the time to search for providers who have not yet introduced a balance transfer fee. Don't forget to search for cards and compare their offers with Tesco Compare.

Once you have transferred your balance across, avoid buying anything else on the new card – the interest free offer may only apply to the balance you have transferred, and any new purchases can be charged the full interest. Lenders will almost always use your payments to clear interest free balances first, meaning you could keep paying the full APR on new purchases until the full balance is cleared.

Cashback Credit Cards

If you pay off the full balance on your credit card every month, and you are looking to get a little something back, you could apply for a cashback credit card. These cards take a small percentage of every purchase amount you pay, and credit it back to you as a reward, usually totalled up and paid to you once a year. So if you were to spend £500 pounds a month with a cashback credit card offering 1% money back, you would receive a £60 cashback payment after one year. It may not seem like much, but it's better than nothing and definitely better than paying out interest.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions for cashback cards carefully so that you know how to make the most of the offer. Make sure you pay off your balance in full every month so that you don't get charged interest, as this will quickly wipe off any cashback benefits. It's worth finding a cashback card with the lowest interest rate just in case this does happen.

Low interest credit cards

Although it may seem obvious, it's a good idea to search for cards with a long term low interest rate. Although there are many offers for credit cards with 0% interest, when the term of the offer expires the interest rate often shoots up over 15%. If you often carry over your monthly balance, or usually pay it off but occasionally carry over but don't have the time to constantly apply for new cards and watch the calendar for the best date to switch balances, it may be best to search for a low interest rate for life. Tesco Compare will allow you to sort by the features you find most important in a credit card.