Personal Loans offering cheapest rates of all time ñ Sainsburys bring out market leading 3.8% product

The price war between lenders has escalated to such an extent that borrowers now resemble kids in a candy shop confounded by the sheer choice of loans with record low interest rates and the best ever maximum amount borrowed, each new deal that gets rolled out sweeter than the last.

Sainsburys latest mid-range, market leading loan offerings

Sainsburys are now offering borrowers the chance to take out a loan of up to £15,000 at a wonderfully affordable 3.8% APR on up to a 3 year term, and 3.9% on terms of 4 to 5 years. The minor snag being borrowers seeking to take out this policy must be nectar cardholders ñ so just go grab one ASAP, use it and youíre good to go!

This new standard offering from Sainsburys is the market-leading on the market, with someone seeking to borrow the full amount, £15,000, over 5 years at 3.9% will pay monthly repayments of £275.57 with a total of £1,534.29 paid on top of the initial sum taken out.

For those avid Sainsburysí shoppers, the supermarket giantsí shopper reward loan might be more attractive, coming with 5,000 bonus nectar points and doubling the value of every nectar point you get for the 2 years following your loanís approval. This loan comes at a very reasonable rate of 4.2% APR for all loans up to 5 years.

To ensure these policies are the ones for you, be sure to double check the terms and conditions, as if you have notoriously bad credit, do not live in the UK and are not employed, you will not be considered a suitable candidate.

Other notably reasonable products worth over £5,000 on the market include HSBCís £7,000-£15,000 loan at 3.9% APR, available only to HSBC current account holders, and First Directís superb £15,000-£25,000 product at a market leading 4% APR, again only obtainable by First Direct 1st account holders.

Lenders have been encouraged in recent times by cheap government money resulting from their enrolment into the governmentís lending scheme, and with tougher lending criteria being imposed earlier this year by the Bank of England dampening lending activity, it would appear Britainís top banks & building societies are striving to make up for lost time, undercutting each other at any opportunity.

Loophole exploitation to ensure youíre getting value

Despite the attractiveness of loans from lenders at the moment, there are a number of tricky methods you can deploy to get value.

If you work for a tight-knit, successful start-up, have recently made a notable positive difference at work or just have a great rapport with your employer, you can cheekily lobby him/her to lend you up to £10,000 ñ the perk being that this can be sanctioned as tax-free & interest free, and conveniently taken from your salary!

If youíre borrowing under £5,000, and youíre an organise, responsible sort; definitely look into taking out a 0% credit card, as these will be interest-free providing you make those all-important monthly repayments on time. Compare 0% credit cards with MoneyExpert as soon as possible, and get cracking on that rigid repayment schedule!

Steer well clear of PPI products from loan companies, which offer confusing deals almost always resulting in customers being shafted out of thousands of pounds. Outline your requirements with a trusted advisor, for example if you are unemployed you obviously do not need unemployment cover, and if youíre self-employed there is a lot of fine print to press on with, as you could be violating terms of the agreement without even realising.

Yet, as always with taking out loans, the golden rule is less is more; borrow only as much as you need, and pay it off with the greatest degree of swiftness you can manage. Debts build up, and interest rates on greater sums are far heftier than on smaller sums.

With Christmas round the corner, weíd suggest using one of the many 0% credit cards on offer to ensure you have one to remember. Remember, its only irresponsible, if youíre the one being reckless ñ always have a repayment plan whether it be loan, credit card or any sort of borrowing.

Compare loans with MoneyExpert.