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By Julia Kukiewicz Staff Writer
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
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Compare Credit Cards
Three Things in Brief:
- Check your Needs
Decide what you need to use your credit card for and compare credit cards on that basis.
- Check the Small Print
Make sure that the terms and conditions meet your needs.
- Check that you meet the Minimum Requirements
Your age, salary and credit rating can all affect whether your credit card application is accepted so do your homework before you compare.
Compare credit cards:
 Start comparing credit cards here
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THE credit card market is bursting with choice for all types of consumers. But how can you find out which type of credit card you are and bag the perfect credit card?
It’s not as difficult as you might think.
Armed with the right information about yourself and the different types of credit cards on offer you can make a quick, informed choice and start to get the benefits you need straight away.
In fact, there are actually only three questions you need to ask yourself when you compare credit cards.
1. Why do I need this credit card?
There are many reasons why you might need to compare credit cards.
If you have debts on other credit cards, for example, you can avoid interest by making a 0% interest balance transfer.
Compare 0% balance transfer credit cards
If you need a credit card to make some big purchases you can save with special offers that give you 0% interest on your spending.
Compare credit cards with 0% on purchases
The most important thing to remember is that, with very few exceptions, you can only use one credit card for one job.
This is because of clauses such as allocation of payments which means that payments on your statement are deducted in a certain order, leaving you to pay off one kind of debt accrued on the card whilst another remains languishing until the first is paid off.
Try making a list of the most important reasons for getting a credit card and then compare credit cards using your top choice.
Remember that getting more than one credit card may also work out as a better deal.
2. What’s in the credit card small print?
We often forget to check the rules lurking in the terms and conditions when we compare credit cards but making sure that they suit your needs is a simple way to differentiate between similar credit cards.
If you’re looking for a credit card that you can use for spending and pay off at the end of every month, for example, look for a long interest free period. The longest is generally 56 days.
Make sure that you also look out for annual fees, minimum monthly repayments and foreign transaction fees if you often go abroad.
3. How can I get the credit card?
Check the minimum requirements for your credit card before you apply as rejected applications may damage your credit rating.
These minimum requirements include your age, your salary and any previous credit history.
You will generally find that Platinum credit cards and Gold credit cards and those credit cards with a lot of rewards have minimum requirements which are the most difficult to meet.
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