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Moneysupermarket advises on charity cards

Various charity credit cards have been compared by moneysupermarket.com - with some scepticism expressed as to how useful they are.

Experts at the website pointed out that the actual amount going to deserving causes from the cards was comparatively small.

For instance, the American Express Red card donates just £1 to AIDS charities for every £100 spent.

This total goes down to 35p for the British Heart Foundation card and to just 25p for the Oxfam Advantage, Unicef and RSPCA cards.

Steve Willey, head of credit cards at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Charitable cards, while commendable in theory, are let down by the small percentage of profits that actually end up in the pockets of the charities.

"If the majority of activity on your credit card is through purchases, then your most charitable option is to get a card with the longest zero per cent offer on purchases and give some of your savings to the charity of your choice."

Giving that little bit extra for a good cause will be in the forefront of many minds this week.

On Friday, Comic Relief returns - with thousands of fund-raising charity events planned nationwide.

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