What to Look for in a Credit Card

With all of the credit card offers floating around today, how is one to decide which offer best fits their individual needs? Most credit cards today are designed to be used by a certain types of cardholders, and in order to get the full benefit from any given card you will need to pick the one that best fits your own personal needs. I know that this process can be difficult and sometimes seem overwhelming, but this article is designed to point out what you need to look for when deciding which credit card is right for you.

• Introductory Rate

Most credit cards offer a special introductory rate for a specified time period when you sign up for the card. The usual introductory offer you will see is for a 0% interest rate on purchases and balance transfers. Although most of the deals will look similar, you will want to pay special attention to the length of this introductory offer. Some credit cards only offer this special rate for the first 3 or 6 months, but if you look around you will find some cards that offer the introductory rate for the first 12 months that you own the card. When comparing cards, you should consider the ones that offer the lowest introductory rate for the longest time period.

• Interest Rate

After analyzing the introductory rate, you will want to look at what the interest rate will be for the life of the credit card. This number can vary from card to card so you will want to make sure that you compare a few cards to find the most competitive rate. The most important thing to look for when reviewing the interest rate is to check to see if the interest rate is variable or fixed for the life of the card. A variable interest rate can change over time, and this is not ideal because your interest rate can start of at a competitive rate and end up rising to a very high rate over time. You will want to make sure that you are not signing up for what you believe to be a low interest rate card, only to find out later that the interest rate is variable, and will go up in the future. When possible, you will want to find a credit card that offers a fixed interest rate.

• Fees