Sunday, August 10, 2008

Best Rated Credit Cards - 7 Tips for Finding the Best Card

Finding the best rated credit cards isn't as hard as it used to be. There are so many credit card companies today competing for your business, you get to pick and choose which card is best for you. The problem is that there are so many credit cards that it can get confusing and before you know it, you wasted hours on the web searching out that perfect credit card. Before you know it, you're tired of searching and confused about which card offered what and you settle for a card that doesn’t give you everything you deserve. So before you start your search for the best rated credit cards, here are seven tips to keep you on track:

Look for a credit card that has a low interest rate. There is so much competition in the credit card marketplace these days, there’s absolutely no reason for you to pay a high interest rate. Remember, if you don’t pay your balance off each month, that interest rate will be added to your credit card and ultimately, your purchases cost you a whole lot more.

Find a card with no annual fee. Don’t even consider a credit card that has an annual fee unless you have bad credit and you are having trouble getting approved. If this is the case, take the card, charge a small amount, pay it off each month for several months. By doing this, you will be establishing good credit and then you can switch to a credit card with no annual fee.

No Rewards Limit. Definitely look for a credit card with some type of rewards program such as gas rebates, cash back, air travel miles etc. But before you take the first card to offer you rewards, read the fine print. Make sure the card doesn’t have a limit as to how many rewards you can get.

Higher % Payouts. The norm used to be that you best you could get on any type of rewards card was 1% but that’s just not so anymore. Many cards will give you anywhere from 5% up to 20% in special cases. The best rated credit cards have the highest percentage of payouts.
Perks. Choose a card with perks or rewards that you will actually use. If a card offers shopping points to vendors that you don’t use it doesn’t do you any good.

Introductory interest offers. Most cards will give you a grace period of up to six months of no interest and no interest on balance transfers. This is a great way to transfer a balance and get it paid off without the high interest rate of your old card.

Compare credit cards. The most important tip to finding the best rated credit cards is to compare all the available credit cards. Go to sites that compare all the major credit cards so you don’t waste your valuable time searching the internet. There are many sites like this and they have all the major credit cards with features listed for each card to make your choice quick and easy.

Remember to keep these seven tips in mind when searching for the best rated credit cards and your search will be quick and painless.

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