Introductory rates are increasingly getting better. In fact, introductory interest rates fell by 8.7% relative to the Bank of England base rate, between 1998 and 2004, according to Datamonitor, an information company that provides industry analysis for financial services

Technically there is no such thing as a 0% credit card, but you can avoid paying interest by paying your balance off in full before the due date. All credit cards offer interest free periods on purchases, which lasts about 55 days, depending on the provider.

Although you can find 0% credit card interest deals for introductory periods, there are no cards with a standard 0% interest rate. After all, credit card companies need to make money.

Your bad credit rating could be due to any of the following things.

Perhaps the best way to improve your credit rating is be realistic about what you can afford. This means not taking on more payments than you can manage. Make sure whatever you agree to pay with your lender, it is something you can manage consistently over a period of time until you re-pay the amount in full.

It’s not impossible to get a credit card when you have a bad credit history, but it will cost you. In offering bad credit credit cards, lenders generally target people who have a history of not meeting their repayments, so they need to insure themselves against this happening.

When looking for a bad credit credit card, you should expect to be offered a pretty high interest rate. You may also be offered cards with an annual fee – don’t turn them down straight away as the fee might bring your typical Annual Percentage Rate (APR) down.

The credit card market is competitive, with many options for consumers, so how can credit card companies lure you? One of their incentives is cashback.

Cashback credit cards are of little benefit for transferring a credit card balance. Instead, you should be looking for a card with a low interest rate and a 0% introductory offer.

We'll ask you a few details about the way you use your credit card, for example: how do you pay your balance? If you pay it off in full, then cashback cards will feature near the top of the results.