There are thousands of credit card companies out there that are trying to get you to sign up with them. They go through great lengths trying to do so by sending you spam in your email, mailing misleading information to your home, or even calling you at night while you are enjoying a delicious pizza with your family.
You have to know what to look for when applying for a credit card or it could be the worst mistake you have ever made. The following is the top 5 factors to look for to keep you out of even more debt.
Interest Rate – The average interest rate is around 12%. Ensure you read the small print to see if that is permanent. Credit card companies like to flash low interest rates at you but for only 6 months.
Annual Fee – This is a normal fee that companies charge for just having the card. The average fee is around $35 a year but there are plenty of credit card companies that have no annual fee. The ones that do are not necessarily the best credit cards though. They may be raising interest to make up for that.
Rewards – Do they give you anything for using their card? I’m sure you have heard of earning frequent flyer miles or points that you can use towards buying products such as St.George credit cards.
Credit Limit – How much are they going to give me? Do not base the decision of the card strictly on the limit and never go over the amount than what you actually need. This could get you into more trouble than what you started with.
Late Fee – Will they add on even more to your balance if you don’t make the monthly amount?
There are plenty of more factors to look at but these are the major ones. Do yourself a favor and research credit cards before buying. It’s an extremely important decision.