How to Compare Credit Card Offers

All credit card offers are not created equally. There are many different things to look at when you are looking for a new account. How do you know which one is best with so many out there? The following article will help you to compare credit card offers in order to get the best deal.

Step 1

Gather credit card offers. You can compare the ones you get in the mail or you can look to the internet to get them. You can even call up the banks, but then you have to deal with the sales people before you even get to compare them on your own. Get as much solid data as you can and then begin to chart out all the following criteria.

Step 2

Check the APR, annual percentage rate. This is the amount of interest you can expect to pay on the account annually. Make note of variable rate offers as they will adjust as the prime interest rates adjust. A slightly higher interest rate may be better than variable rate credit card offers.

Step 3

Look at the other APR’s. The primary APR is only for standard purchases. Balance transfers, cash advances, account default APR and over limit APR. There can also be adjustments to the APR for other reasons as determined by the contract. These are all things to consider when you compare credit card offers. Determine which ones are important to you for sake of comparison and toss out the rest.

Step 4

The grace period for repayment is critical when you compare credit card offers. Some banks offer a 30 day grace which means that if you pay it off monthly you don’t accrue any interest. Others will do a 10-20 day grace which means that you would have to pay off the card two or three times a month in order to prevent interest accrual. It is always best to plan on paying the card off before very much interest is accrued.

Step 5

Annual fees and finance charges should be considered. Often the seemingly best credit card offers have ridiculous fees attached to make up for the low interest rates. Be sure to clarify exactly what constitutes a reason for applying a finance charge so as to avoid being gouged with numerous fees.

Step 6

Other fees can apply such as balance transfer and cash advance fees as well as over limit fees. These typically are pretty high, but they do very from bank to bank. If you think you will ever be required to pay these fees, it would be good to compare them with the rest of the credit card offer.