Tesco is offering 0% on purchases for 13 months and Sainsburys for 12 months. But with interest rates at 16.9% and 15.9% thereafter, experts say it is vital to pay off the balance next year.
Kevin Mountford, of comparison website Moneysupermarket.com, says: 'It normally takes a few weeks to receive your card and pin, so if you need cheap borrowing for Christmas, you should apply now. Just remember, the debt has to be repaid eventually and you don't want to be repaying what you spend this Christmas, next Christmas.'
The Tesco card also has a reward scheme, giving one Clubcard point for every £4 you spend, or two for every £2 you spend on fuel. Each point is worth 1p to spend in Tesco, various retailers, on days out or Airmiles.
Halifax, M&S and AA are offering 0% on purchases for ten months, while MBNA is offering it for nine months.
More: A full rundown of the best credit cards for Christmas spending
Those who want a more long-term rate could opt for a low-cost credit card such as Barclaycard Platinum Simplicity, which charges 6.8%, or Capital One's OneRate card at 9.9%. These cards have a low interest rate for life, without any introductory 0% deals. If you always pay off your balance in full and would like some reward for your Christmas spending, there are some good cashback deals available.
American Express offers 0% on purchases for six months and 5% cashback for three months on all spending up to £2,000. After that, you get between 0.5% and 1.25% cashback.
This means if you spent £850 a month you would receive about £180 cashback in the first year. Capital One and Egg have no interest-free period, but offer 1% cashback per year. Another card that might appeal to shoppers is the Amazon.co.uk MasterCard, which offers 0% on purchases for the first nine months and credits £10 to your account when you spend £25 anywhere in the first 60 days.
Customers also earn one point for every £1 spent at Amazon.co.uk and one point for every £2 spent elsewhere. After every 1,000 points, customers are sent a £10 Amazon.co.uk gift voucher. The Play.com credit card also has 0% for the first nine months and customers earn one point for every £1 spent anywhere and two points for every £1 spent at Play.com, with 500 points giving a £5 Play.com gift voucher.
The Asda card has 0% on purchases for three months and customers earn one point for every £4 they spend (two points for every £4 spent in Asda). Each point is worth 1p in Asda vouchers.
In the first three months, you earn four points for every £4 at Asda and two points for every £4 spent outside Asda. This means a weekly shop of £60 in Asda would get you a voucher for £7.20 after the first three months.
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