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Cheap Credit Cards
By: Terje Ellingsen
Each week we are bombarded with credit card offers, telling us that this
particular offer is the best. It is pretty annoying, when we know that most of
these so called cheap credit cards are nothing but scams and are not even worth
the time to look at. The best way to find a decent credit card is to compile a
list of the best offers and choose the best of them - the best of the best so to
say.
Before you can know which credit card offer is best for you you, must know
exactly which credit card you are looking for. So make a list of requirements,
then you can start to gather information from various credit card vendors. The
best place to collect this information is online. This can be done by doing a
search for ["credit card offers" + review] which also will give you other
people’s opinion about the actual offers. Another or even simpler way is to
check out the offers from recommended and reputable credit card companies.
When you have collected a few offers, it's time to go through them and compare
them according to your written requirements.
If you haven't already included interest rates and credit card fees on your
requirement list, you should add these to the comparison criterias as well. You
know many credit cards are attached with so called 'hidden charges' or charges
in ‘small prints'. An example of such a charge is a one-time enrollment fee for
new cardholders. Therefore you should study the terms very carefully, also the
'small printed' part.
Many credit card companies are also charging a monthly or yearly cardholder fee.
Then we have transaction fees, which is a fee you have to pay each time you use
the credit card. These fees varies from company to company and when you compare,
it is important that all costs are included so that you can find the deal that
has the lowest total cost.
There are some credit cards however, without fees. These are the best credit
cards. Though they are hard to find you can hit some of them, but you have to
read the the application text carefully. You can also ask questions to the card
company you investigate about all the different kind of fees they have before
you decide which credit card you want to go for. To get a cheap card is all
about doing a good preparatory legwork upfront.
Interest rates are also an important factor for the total cost of a credit card
and should therefore also be studied and compared very carefully. You should
look for cards with the lowest possible rate, all other factors equal. I have
seen examples of credit card companies that charge more than 20% interest rate,
and that is way too much. The best cards have interest rates lower than 15%. You
should look at the long term interest rates and not introduction offers like
lower or no interest rates the first month.
Some of the best credit card companies will even charge you a lower interest or
no interest on purchases paid off in less than a certain number of days, in most
cases 30 days.
Some people are more concerned about the spending limit instead of what it cost
to have the card. For those with a limited amount of money to spend, the best
credit card is the one that has the lowest total cost. If you are among them,
look for hidden fees and interest. These determine the cost of your credit card.
About the Author:
Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website
www.1st-in-loan.net. Terje gives advice and helps people with financial
issues like finding low interest mortgages, see
www.1st-in-loan.net/online_mortgage.htm and to apply for cheap credit
cards, see
www.1st-in-loan.net/credit_card_offer.htm |
