Compare credit cards
Comparing credit cards need not be a difficult exercise despite the plethora of credit card choices available.
Credit cards especially during the Internet era have made application for them a breeze, all that is required for applying for one can be done online, and credit card issuers are taking advantage of the vast reach of the Internet by obtaining custom from various consumers who may not even bank with them.
Some of the ways credit card companies entice new business is via offering promotions on their cards, such as points for using the card which they can use for points off grocery shopping, for air miles, or off fuel, they also offer a promotional period (usually a year to fifteen months) where their APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is a lot lower than the normal (but users should not get too comfortable with the promotional rate as after the promotional period is over, purchases can seem a lot more expensive).
With so many credit cards on offer, how does one select the best one? Apart from choosing a great interest rate, you should also select a credit card that has promotional features that would benefit you, for example there would be no point going for a credit card with great air miles points if you have no intention of travelling for sometime.
It’s not a good idea to select the first credit card that you happen to come across, the first port of call when choosing a credit card is your own bank, as you already have a history with them, and they can give you a great interest rate compared to others, they can afford to do this as they would like your custom, and some have even faciliated payments to the credit card via direct debits from your current or checkign account.
There are three main type of credit cards, an unsecured credit card, a secured credit card, and a prepaid credit card, an unsecured credit card is the defacto standard, and is usually done after a credit check or report to determine if you are eligible for the card and your limit, a secured credit card is secured against your home or property, and obviously not a good choice for many people, the third option a prepaid credit card is a real money maker for the credit card companies, as it means they don’t have to issue anyone with a loan which basically is what a credit card is, for a prepaid credit card, users fund the card rather like a debit card, but they still get charged usage fees associated with a credit card.
Credit cards generally prove their worth, not only in not handling cash on your person, but also in an emergency, for example if stuck in a rural area with no cash machine in sight, and you are desperately in need for cash, you could go to the local grocery store and ask for cashback, obviously this will be trated as a cash transfer and for cash transfers the interest rates are a little more steep than for standard purchases, but for emergencies this could be a life saver.
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Filed under: credit cards for bad credit