How many people have credit cards with very high annual percentage rates when they started out with no APR? Because the credit card industry is good at hiding fees and interest rates that can quickly add up once the customer is already hooked into the system.
So, if you want to find a credit card with better deals, make sure you understand how your credit card works. This means you should have come up with a rough estimate of how much your credit system will really cost. Your mailbox might have been full of credit offers, all of which sounded better than the others. What should you do with all of these colourful flyers?
Don't be too quick to take advantage of a deal that seems too good to be true, because it usually is. Most promotions with zero annual percentage rates only last for up to six months. It means that after that amount of time, you'll have to pay the annual fee to the credit card company every time you use it. If you blindly agree to these terms, your rates could go up by up to 13% even if you pay your balance on time.
If you pay your credit card bill on time every month, a credit card with a grace period will work for you. This grace period is how long you have to pay your bill before interest starts to add up. You see, some credit card companies charge you interest on the things you buy. So, even if you pay your bill on time, you will still have to pay more.
When you look at credit offers, make sure to read everything that's written, including the fees. No matter how small the printing is, it is very important to how you manage your money. This section tells you about the most important fees that will be charged to you.
These fees include the annual fees, closing fees, late fees, and overseas transaction fees.
If you pay your bills on time and the company's terms say so, you can avoid the annual fee. Better yet, find a credit card company that wants you to pay on time.
When you want to close your account, you have to pay a fee. Imagine still having to pay this fee right before you leave the company. So, they do this to keep their customers. However, as a customer, you should be able to close your account at any time if you have paid off your bills and are no longer happy with the service. So before you sign up for credit, you should ask the credit provider if they charge this fee.
The late fee is what you have to pay if you don't pay by the due date. At least you have to pay for this one because you were late, which is mostly your fault.
The point is that you have to figure out what the credit offers are really saying.
When you use your credit card abroad, you have to pay the overseas transaction fee. Visa and MasterCard used to charge 1% for this service. Later, because the providers wanted to make more money, it went up by another 1% or 2%.
