May 19, 2005

If you don’t own a credit card and are not to sure on which one to pick from the many adverts and leaflets, that seem to be on T.V all the time or falling from your daily newspaper, it’s hardly any wonder that you could be confused.

But picking the right credit card that suits you from the very start, will benefit you in the long run and will lead to having a credit card in the purse or wallet as being a very handy tool to have.

So what can you do to work out which credit card is the right one for you?
Well first things first, you will have to decide if you want a credit card to use through the month and then be able to pay off the balance at the end of each month, when you have been paid so not to incur any interest charges, or are you going to be a borrower, who wants to use the credit card to make purchases that they could then pay back at a fraction of what they owe.

After you have decided on which type of customer that you wish to be, the next move is to check out interest rates, if you are a no interest guy or gal, then any credit card on the market will suit you as you will only be paying back what you have spent at the end of each month, with no interest added, but if you decide that you would like to see benefits from your plastic, then there are out there that give you perks as you spend and even in some cases give you money back on what you have spent. This will come in the form of cash back credit card or you could use one of the many 0% interest deals to leave you cash in a high savings interest account at the end of the 0% period, all it takes is a bit of savvy and some discipline.

Related Articles

If you are using the credit card to be a borrower, then interest rates and getting the lowest deal possible is what you have to aim for and now is possibly the easiest time ever to get a good deal on credit card interest rates, as many as 50 of the top credit card issuers are on a recruitment drive for custom and are giving you the chance to pick up a credit card that will have no interest from anything up to a year, but don’t just jump into the first one that give you this, always check what the APR is going to be once the 0% period is over, as some may charge as much as double.

A little gremlin to look out for is payment protection, this will maybe come to the advantage of the borrower, if god forbids you loose your job or fall ill, and it will help to pay some of the debt off, but check that it suit’s you first before agree to it, as it can hold little stipulations in the small print, that may make it pretty useless to you, one such thing is that it may not cover people who are self employed. If you are a clean slate credit card holder then there is no such need for payment protection, as you are not going to be holding any debt anyway, so it’s pointless.

Some little hidden factors may also catch you out, though insurance is not one of those, as per say you will usually receive this free as and when the credit card is been issued. The ones to look out for is the charges that your plastic will incur for any late payments, these can range from £15-£25 dependant on the card issuer. Another is using your card to make cash withdrawals, as a charge of 2% will be made to the card and this will also start to be charged interest from the moment you have the cash in your hand.

Though most do not charge an annual fee, some credit card issuers still do, so that is another little sting to look out for.