What are the best points credit cards with 0% interest on purchases?

The current marketing gimmick among credit card companies is to offer 0% interest on new purchases for a long period of time.

0% interest offers on balance transfers – albeit usually with a 3% fee – have always been popular but only work for people who carry a balance.  Those people are less likely than average to be Head for Points readers.

‘0% interest on purchases’ is valuable to anyone, however.  There is no need to pay your bill, apart from the minimum repayment, each month.  You can spend up to your credit limit and then settle the entire bill in two years or so, just as your 0% period comes to an end.

You should only do this if a) you are 100% certain to have the money available at the end of the 0% period and b) you trust yourself to remember when the 0% period is coming to an end.

Keep your money in the bank for an extra two years or so and you would generate an extra return for yourself.

What are the best options?

According to MoneyFacts, the best 0% deals on purchases are currently offered by loyalty credit cards, which is handy.   This allows you to earn points as you run up your purchases.

Best deal on the market:

The best deal on the market is the Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar Purchase Credit Card (representative APR 18.9% variable) with 29 months of 0% interest on purchases.

The Nectar earning rate on this card is poor, however, at just 1 point per £5 spent.  That is just 0.1% back.  At Sainsbury’s, you earn a far better rate of 2 points per £1.

This card also has a sign-up bonus.  If you spend £250 in Sainsbury’s, either on food or fuel, in the first 40 days of having the card you will receive 5,000 bonus Nectar points.  These are worth at least £25 and possibly more if you save them for a special redemption offer.

2nd best interest-free period on the market:

The second best deal is more interesting from an Avios perspective.  This version of the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card comes with 0% interest for up to 28 months.  The representative APR is 18.9% variable.

You earn 1 Clubcard point for every £8 you spend, rounded down to the nearest £8.  At 2.4 Avios per Clubcard point, you are getting a headline 0.3 Avios per £1 spent albeit you need to factor in the negative impact of rounding which will reduce this figure.

There is no sign-up bonus with this version of the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card.

Other Avios earning option – with sign-up bonus and no annual fee:

This version of the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card comes with 1,000 Clubcard points – worth 2,400 Avios or 2,500 Clubcard points – for signing up and making one purchase or a balance transfer.  You only get 17 months of 0% interest on new purchases, however.

The representative APR is 18.9% variable.

Other Avios earning option – with annual fee and no sign-up bonus:

The Lloyds Avios Rewards card comes with 0% interest for 24 months on new purchases.  The representative APR is 23.7% variable including the £24 annual fee.

This is a dual pack of an Amex and a Mastercard.  You earn 1.25 Avios per £1 spent on the Amex and 0.25 Avios per £1 on the Mastercard.  The Amex rate is doubled for the first six months.

There is no sign-up bonus on this card.  The refer-a-friend deal appears to have been suspended on 31st December.

Other Avios earning option – no annual fee, sign-up bonus but strict earning requirements:

The HSBC Premier Credit Card requires you to have a HSBC Premier current account.  This is free but requires you to have substantial savings with HSBC or a £100,000+ salary.  Representative APR 18.9% variable.

The card offers 9 months of 0% interest on new purchases.  The Avios earning rate is excellent – you get 0.5 HSBC points per £1 spent (1 point per £1 for foreign spend) and these convert 1:1 into Avios or various other airlines.

Until 28th February, there is a sign-up bonus of £25 for taking out the card and making your first purchase.

Other Avios earning option – with annual fee and no sign-up bonus:

The Lloyds Choice Rewards American Express and Mastercard package lets you earn Avios if you convert your Choice Points.  The earnings rate is 1 Avios per £1 on the Amex and 0.2 Avios per £1 on the Mastercard.  The earning rate on the Amex is doubled for the first six months.

The card offers 24 months of 0% interest on new purchases.

The representative APR is 23.7% variable including the £24 annual fee.  As the earning rate is worse than the Lloyds Avios Rewards cards, with the same annual fee, we tend not to discuss this card on Head for Points.

Conclusion

As you can see, you don’t have to sacrifice Avios points if you want to take out a credit card offering 0% interest on new purchases.

Which card is best for you depends on your personal preferences on annual fees, the length of the 0% period you want and the rewards you want to earn.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.