There are a number of advantages to using credit cards to pay for Christmas shopping, according to Sainsbury's Bank.

Following research by the firm which found that shoppers will spend £2.7 billion more on last-minute shopping this year than during 2006 , Donald MacLeod, head of cards, said he was "surprised" by the figures.

"All the press comment at the moment has been about their being a squeeze on [spending], but this doesn't appear to be the case," he added.

The bank also revealed that 8.6 million will pay for over 50 per cent of their Christmas purchases with credit cards, compared to 6.5 million last year.

Mr MacLeod continued that credit cards can not only offer great rates such as zero per cent on purchases, but also allow flexibility when buying presents and reduce the need to carry money around.

Last year there were 69.5 million credit cards in issue, reports UK payments association Apacs, with the average person possessing 2.4.

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