Is the credit card really serving you the needs?
Find out the best ways to compare and find the right card for you. The advertisments may only show the sweeter side of the card. How to find out whether there is a bitter side on the offer too. Does “No Annual fees” is really saving you money? This article will help you to find it out.
Gimmicks behind the Ads
Is it really 0% interest?
Most of the offers are easy to compare. Credit cards with advertisements carrying 0% APR for a period or having no annual fees can easily make you miss some other important details which may charge you more.
A very tricky statement
Cards with 0% APR or low APR should have some other terms too to compensate that. Check if you are late with your payment. There are times when it is almost impossible to make your payment on time, even if you were prompt on your payments. Some cards even fix a time apart from due date, like the payment to be made before 12 noon. This is a very tricky statement, which gets you in trouble, since at times it may not be able to make it before that 12 noon. Then your payment is considered late and you have to pay the fine and other additional charges. It not only charge you for late payment but also your APR will also shoot up.
Cash Advances on Credit Cards
Even if you are not taking cash advances on credit card, it is always better to compare on the APR of cash advances also. These are generally very high than the APR of shopping done on the card. Cash advances also will have no grace period to have interest free loans. The interest will be charged from the same day you took the cash advance.
At time you cannot avoid taking cash advances from a credit card and this is where you have to pay heavy charges and interests. This is a good catch which most them forget to compare before getting the credit card.
Rewards Points not Rewarding you !!!
Sometimes the reward points attracts you to have that credit card. Compare it with other cards also. Some card may offer you extra miles on your air travel and some may offer you to select the airline of your choice. Check it whether they give you the airline of your choice. There may be useless free air miles of an airline which you may not like. In this case you will be loosing those reward points. Remember reward points are almost equal to cash, if you exactly know what you want from the offered reward points.
Grace Period
Its always important to have a look at the grace period offered on a credit card. You should when you have to pay back the money without interest being charged. The longer grace period you get on a credit card the more you enjoy the credit. So watch on that.
Secrets behind “No Annual Fees Cards”
Credit card companies are not functioning for charity purpose. There is always a business eye behind every sweet offer. You can find lot of credit cards without any annual fees. There may be other fees which will be more that the annual fees like, late payment fees, cash advance fees, set up fees and other fees which will be written on the every tiny terms and conditions. These fees may add up more than annual fees, if you are ignorant.
Your Credit Limit
You will not know the credit limit on a card unless it is approved. Agents may give you an approximate amount. But the final credit limit will always vary upon approval. Some ads may be showing that you may get credit limit upto 10 lakhs doesn’t mean that you are eligible for that credit limit. Its only a catching advertisement to get you there, the credit limit will be always based on your financial status.
It is always better to take a little of your time to compare the credit card offers before deciding. It can save you lot of trouble and money.
Do not apply for that credit card since you liked that advertisement.