Know what to look for with credit cards

Experts from Moneyextra.com are advising consumers to ensure that they know exactly what to look for in a credit card to ensure that they end up with the right card for them. This comes as many credit cards have started offering special deals to consumers in a bid to tempt custom and beat the competition. 

Moneyextra experts have warned that even though a credit card deal can look attractive at first, there can be a multitude of issues hidden within, and consumers should know what to look for in order to get the best deal.

One of the areas that consumers need to look at according to Moneyextra experts is the interest free period offered on 0% balance transfer cards. The general rule of thumb is that the longer the interest free period, the higher the interest rate will be after the period expires. Therefore you should assess whether you would be able to clear your balance within the interest free period, as if not you would have to either switch balance again or pay an extortionate interest rate on whatever you have outstanding by the time the interest free period expires.

Consider whether you may be better off using a balance transfer card that offers a very low interest rate for the life of the transferred balance. Also, remember that most balance transfer cards charge a fee for transferring your balance, and you should look into how much this is in order to ensure that you are getting value for money on your credit card spending. There can be a minimum fee or a percentage of the transferred balance, such as tow and a half percent of the balance with a fifty pound minimum for instance.

Tom Smith
30th January 2007

More Information:

• Credit Card Charges
  Credit cards appear to have only one cost to a user – the interest charged on purchases, but there are a whole raft of hidden charges just lurking below the surface. So, some cards offer an annual payment option in return for certain benefits. What is the best option, and in what circumstance
• Making Credit Card Fees Easier To Understand
  On average, UK credit card issuers make somewhere between £300 and £400 million a year in fees charged off of UK credit card users who have not fully understood how the credit card issuer has arranged the charging of their fees and who do not complain directly to the card issuer for any excessive or incorrect fee charges. In anyone’s language, this is a staggering amount of money!
• How To Avoid Paying Those Pesky Credit And Debit Card Fees
  It seems that UK credit and debit card providers would like to charge us each and every time we use our plastic cards these days. While the charge for each separate individual transaction may not seem like much, add them up over a month or two and suddenly the amount has some value. So, how do we avoid having to pay pesky fees to UK credit and debit card providers?

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