How to Choose a Credit Card

Do you need to get a credit card- here are some tips to getting the right card with the most benefits that will help keep you out of debt.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Use: Consider how you are going to use this card. Write out a list of the uses and the amount of each use.

2. APR: Look at the annual percentage rates. Realize many have different annual percentage rates for balance transfers than for cash advances than for charges. Consider what you wrote as uses and choose the one with the lowest APR for your most common uses.

3. Grace period: Consider the grace period in your evaluation. Cards with longer grace periods will give you more time to pay off your debts without having any fee charged.

4. Fees: Check to see if there are annual fees, late fees, over the limit fees, phone payment fees, or other fees and determine how often (or if) you would incur these fees for each credit card you are considering.

5. Last but not least, consider the rewards. Many cards offer cash back, these are typically preferable.

Tips & Warnings

• Take time to fully analyze the benefits and costs of each card. It may take time, but remember this is a long term purchase.