Credit card deals: how to choose

Every body is jumping on the credit card bandwagon these days and that’s good news for consumers. With a little effort you can find yourself a pretty decent credit card deal whether its from your bank, credit union, department store or shopping club. Depending on what your needs are, there are deals out there that offer combinations of low introductory credit card rates, cash back offers, reward programs and other features.

Balance Transfers

First you must wade through the maze of offers to determine what’s right for you. If transferring a balance is important to you, have a close look at credit card deals that offer a low transfer rate with the longest time span for which that rate lasts. But before you chose, read the offer carefully to determine how much that rate will increase once the offer period ends.

Some credit card offers will allow you to make more than one balance transfer although others will restrict the allowable transfer window. Try to decide on all your transfers at once as restrictions could limit you to the initial sign-up period only. And you will want to compare fees charged for balance transfers. The usual rate is three percent of the total amounts being transferred although some companies may offer free transfers or a fixed fee. And if you are using an existing card to transfer a balance, know that your monthly payment may be applied to the original balance you had on the card until that’s paid off, before being applied to the items you transferred at the supposed balance transfer rate.

Annual percentage rates

Introductory rates can run from six months to a year and most credit card deals will then go to a rate that is a few points below what you may be paying now. Again, restrictions apply. Read the fine print on the back of the credit card offer to see what your rate may be should you fail to make a payment on time. You may be surprised to find this could zoom to 25% should you miss a due date or two. Introductory APR’s are not always what they may seem.

Rewards programs

Oil companies tend to favor rewards programs that may include a rebate on your gasoline purchases of one to five percent. These credit card deals are handy if you are already loyal to one particular brand of gas and don’t have to drive out of your way to make a purchase. Oil companies may offer you a debit card, a check in the mail or a set of gifts you can “purchase” with your reward points. Since gas cards are a regular-use item they can be handy for building a track record on your credit report. Most oil companies report to the credit bureaus but you may want to make a call to their customer service line to double-check this.

Store cards

In-store shopping with a branded credit card from a major retailer or shopping club usually comes with an up-front discount on the day you sign up. The drawback is you must make a quick decision while you are in the store, never a good idea at the best of times. I would suggest you check out store and shopping club credit card deals on their web sites prior to going shopping.

As always, buyer beware is the safest method of approaching credit card offers. Start by doing your research online at web sites that feature comparison guides to credit card offers. Some regional financial institutions and small credit unions may be the best way to go, while online banks could make you a sharp offer. College students in particular should be careful of what offers they jump at as their mailboxes are always full of these. Careful decision making is the best way to go.