The innovation of Credit Card has solved the problem of carrying huge amount of cash with you while going for shopping. Nowadays almost all shops accept credit cards as an alternative payment method. But along with its advantages, credit card can also become the owners nightmare. To avoid undesirable circumstances one should take considerable time to decide before applying for a credit card. The most important step before an application is made is credit card comparison. Applicant should compare the schemes and offers available from different companies. Comparison will help you to choose the appropriate card for your requirement.
With a huge number of credit card companies crowding the market, it is very difficult to choose the right card for you. The most critical factors that you should always remember before applying for your card are elaborated below.
Costs that come with a card should be primarily compared. The most prominent of them is the annual fees. Generally the APR or annual percentage rate is about 16% for most of the credit card companies. So it might be difficult for a customer to pay off the debt within grace period. Balance transfer is a great solution to this problem. The credit amount to the present company can be transferred to a new company by applying for their card. Now the money is owed to the new company. To attract customers the credit card companies often give free balance transfer. But in parallel with this alluring offer, the company may charge the money in some other manner to compensate for their loss. So the offer document should be read in between the lines before making your decision.
You should always take a careful look at the rewards offered to you by the company in return of your business with them. The companies always have a reward program to appreciate the loyal business association with its client. So that the client never feels ignored and is always remains motivated to continue terms with the company. During comparison you should go through the reward schemes of different companies to choose which suits you the best.
A good credit card is the one with flexible credit limits. The card should enable the owner to manage his finances. If the owner wants to fix the credit limit, he should be able to do so. The company should not interfere in the matter of deciding how much credit amount should be allowed in my account. So one must look out for a credit card company having flexibility in terms of credit mount and which respects consumer decision.
Grace period is another important aspect that one needs to look out for while comparing credit cards. Grace period is defined as the number of days you have to settle all the credit amount in full before interest charges are applied. It means if you are not able to pay the whole liable amount within the grace period, interest of high rate will be applied on it. Thus one should always apply for a scheme having a long grace period. But at the same time the long grace period should not increase the APR above usual.
All the above offers will prove futile if you cannot apply for the credit card. So it is very necessary for a credit card company to keep its application process as simple as possible. Online applications for credit card save a lot of your time.
Author Resource:
Jamison Banham is the author of this article on Balance Transfers .
Find more information about No Annual Fee here.