Consumers plan to switch credit cards for bargain rates

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Consumers plan to switch credit cards for bargain rates

One in five credit cardholders plans to transfer their balance to a new provider, new research claims.

A survey by card company Capital One found that around 20 per cent of people with a credit card are planning to take advantage of a better deal.

A fifth of consumers with outstanding debt on their card plan to move an average of £1,427 to a new provider during the first three months of the year, Capital One revealed.

Men have accumulated higher debts than women and plan to transfer around £1,666 to a new card in order to reduce the amount of interest they pay, compared with women's average of £1,170.

As many as 1.7 million people are planning to transfer balances of up to £500, while 1.6 million have between £1,001 and £2,000 that they want to move to a different card, and 745,000 consumers are looking to transfer more than £3,000, the poll found.

Rob Habgood, of Capital One, said: "It clearly makes good sense for many people to switch their balances and take advantage of lower rates of interest.

"However, people need to look beyond the initial balance transfer rate to the other rates of interest being charged. In many cases there can be a big jump between the introductory rates and the standard APR."

People living in the south-east and East Anglia are most likely to be planning to transfer an outstanding credit card debt, while those in Yorkshire and Humberside are least likely to plan to switch plastic.

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