When you decide you are responsible enough and need a credit card there are a few ground rules one should abide by. In this review, I am stating the ones that have turned out to mean the most for me. Years ago I decided I wanted and needed a credit card to make traveling easier. Hotel reservations were always a snap when you have a credit card such as a Visa or Mastercard. I have never applied for an American Express card so I have not had the pleasure or displeasure of owning one of those, so this review is based on my experiences with a Visa card.
First, examine your financial picture as it stands right now.
Before you even start applying to credit card companies to get a card, one should take a realistic view of their finances as they stand at this moment. Also examine the reasons you want to have a credit card.
Can you afford the bill? If you can afford another bill, what is the maximum you could afford?
I know this seems like odd questions, but I’ll elaborate a bit more later on in this article.
Look around.
Look around at the businesses that you deal with, what type of card do they most often accept? Then, look around for offers for these types of cards.
Look at the basics.
Before getting swept in by the introductory interest rates, look to see what the regular rates will be after the introductory time has passed.
Also check to see if they charge an annual fee for you holding one of their credit cards. Some companies do, and some do not. I would recommend you picking one that does not charge the annual fee if you can find one.
Do not forget to also check the rates of interest charged should you need to make a minimum payment one month. This carryover balance can really add up, so I would not recommend you carrying a balance for many months.
Do Not Apply For More Credit Than You Can Handle
My first credit card jumped from 1000.00 US dollars to over 20, 000.00 US dollars all within the space of one year. The reason these creditors do this is to tempt you into spending more money, and thus, growing a larger bill. Remember, if you carry the balance over for even just one month, they get interest on this money, so the more you charge the more they get back.
Realize One Major Thing
One thing that some people do not really give much consideration to when applying for credit cards and then using those cards is that if you make the minimum payment on your credit cards each month, you will be very, very old when they are paid off if you have charged anything much.
I stopped my credit cards and paid off the three thousand that had built up when I left public employment. I had been paying the basic payment, but the guaranteed interest rate that I had been promised throughout the use of the card had been doubled in one month due to no fault of my own. This caused my bill to double.
After I stopped the cards and paid off the debt, I received a letter in the mail that the company that had held my card was being sued because of this type of tricky behavior. So be careful, check the bill every month and keep very accurate records no matter if you pay them off every month or not.