Choosing A Credit Card

When you decide you want to get a credit card you are going to want to find one that best suits your needs. It's important to shop around and check out the different offers, as you will be able save yourself money and finance fees.

The first things you need to identify when choosing a credit card are related to how you are going to use your credit card. Do you intend on paying your balance in full each month? If so a credit card with no annual fee and a longer grace period might be the card for you. Perhaps you can foresee that you will be carrying a balance month to month, then a credit card with a lower annual percentage rate could be a good match for you.

In addition, if you expect you will be using your credit card often to receive cash advances you will want to consider choosing a credit card that has a lower annual percentage rate and also lower cash advance fees. Some credit card issuers charge a higher annual percentage rate on cash advances than on typical credit card charges.

You should be aware that when choosing your credit card some issuers have different annual percentage rates for different types of transactions. For instance, one issuer may have one annual percentage rate for purchases; different annual percentage rates for cash advances and still another for balance transfers.

Other credit card companies may use an annual percentage rate tier system where the higher your balance the higher you percentage rate me. There are credit card issuers that will charge a different annual percentage rate for late payments, some that will offer a lower introductory annual percentage and after a set period of time they will raise and some credit card companies will offer a delayed annual percentage rate where the rate goes up in the future.

Another important factor in choosing a credit card is to know the amount of time you have for a grace period. The grace period is the amount of time you have to make a payment before a penalty fee is charged to you. Most often a grace period only applies to new purchases and also be aware that most credit card issuers will not offer a grace period for cash advances and balance transfers.

Finally, educate yourself on the fees with a particular credit card offer. Some fees you may encounter include but are not limited to: cash advance fees, annual participation fees, balance transfer fees, late payment fees, over the credit limit fees, credit limit increase fees, setup fees, return item fees and some fees related to how or when you make a payment on your credit card.

There are a multitude of credit card issuers and they all have their own system and program details. Before choose a credit card, keep in mind some of the aforementioned items and weigh them against how and what you intend to use your credit card. Doing so could save you time and money in the future.