But is it a good idea?

On the surface the new Barclaycard ‘Breathe’ card looks fantastic for anyone that is environmentally concerned.

• 50% of profits donated to worldwide projects that help tackle climate change
• Discounts and low interest rates on selected greener spend such as money off insulation and discounts on bicycles at Halfords.

The profits are already being used to support a number of pioneering projects around the world such as solar panels for schools in the UK, renewable energy and forest preservation, and wind farms and hydropower in China.

It’s great to see companies doing this kind of thing and I think it’s about time it became a battle over who can do the most to save the planet!

Instead of bragging about how many billions people have, they should brag about how much penicillin they’ve supplied to refugee camps!

Anyway, back on track, the reason I question if the Breathe card is a good idea or not is because the profits Barclaycard are using could be reduced if the card is exploited by ‘rate tarts’ going for 0% offers.

For this reason Barclaycard appear to have opted not to enter the balance transfer war with the Breathe card and only offer a 6 month 0% apr balance transfer period.

However with Capital One offering a much more competitive balance transfer offer with only 9.9% apr typical (variable) it makes you think that Barclaycard (and other card issuers for that matter) could have offered even more of an incentive than their equivalent 14.9% apr typical (variable). But that’s another story…

In my opinion anything that does anything, no matter how slight, towards reducing human impact on the planet and enabling us to develop a sustainable planet can only be a good idea.

Keep up to date with the progress of the Breathe projects:

http://www.barclaysmicrosites.co.uk/barclaycardbreathe/3_0_project_goals.htm

Find out more or apply for the card