For consumers, perhaps one of the most useful credit card developments over the past 18 months has been the expansion of the so called ‘dual hook’ cards. These cards offer identical 0% periods on both balance transfers and purchases.
This means that you can use a single card for transferring a balance, and also for making purchases, taking advantage of the superior consumer protection provided by credit cards.
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 protects the purchaser using a credit card against mis-selling or defaults by the seller on purchases costing between £100 and £30,000.
A year and a half ago, Halifax and Bank of Scotland (HBOS) led the way with their ‘9/9’ card – 9 months 0% BT period and 9 months 0% period on purchases. Last year, Sainsburys joined them with a competitive ‘10/10’ card.
The ‘dual hook’ market has become a natural battle ground for attracting customers between the established high street banks (like HBOS), supermarkets (like Sainsburys) and smaller niche players (like the AA) which are more retail focused. This year Virgin caused a stir with its 12/12 card and this week Barclaycard have rolled out its 12/12 card – a sure sign that the dual hook market has gone mainstream. Due to the strength of the dual hook offer, they are beginning to replace the more traditional 0% purchase cards.
With 0% balance transfer periods potentially lengthening, could a 13/13 be on the cards? Probably not, as issuers will want to differentiate between their 0% balance transfer cards and their dual hook cards. Nevertheless, the recent developments in this sector of the market provide consumers with strong and flexible credit card alternatives to the more traditional cards.
About this blog
I’m Alex Acton, the CompareandSave.com author of the ‘On The Cards’ blogs about my take on the credit card market, what is happening, and how it may affect you if you wish to use a credit card.
