These days there are more credit cards available than ever, with credit cards available to suit all needs and circumstances. A credit card is a great way to enjoy ease and convenience when making purchases, and also gives you the ability to make payments and purchases online and by phone.
In addition to making purchases on your credit card you can also use the card for cash advances, although this should be avoided wherever possible as the charges and fees can be very high.
Many people now prefer using credit cards to having to carry around cash or pay by cheque, and with such a choice of credit cards available it is not difficult to find one to suit your needs.
It is important to remember that you need to choose the right credit card in order to truly benefit from credit cards, and the card that is right for you will depend on your needs and circumstances.
It is also important to ensure that you compare a range of cards in order to find the right one for your needs, and this can be done quickly, easily, and conveniently using the Internet.
Amongst the popular types of credit card that are available these days are:
Balance transfer cards
The balance transfer credit card is designed to enable you to transfer balances from other expensive credit cards and enjoy a period of 0% interest or low interest.
With the 0% interest balance transfer card you will normally be charged a fee for transferring your balance, and you will have a fixed period within which you have to pay off the transferred balance before you start getting charged interest.
With a low rate balance transfer card there is no transfer fee, and the low rate is generally applied for the life of the transferred balance, giving you more time to repay the balance without being hit with extortionate interest charges.
0% purchase credit cards
A 0% purchase credit card is ideal for those that want to use their card to make purchases and wish to spread repayment of their balance over a period of time.
With a 0% purchase credit card you can enjoy a specified period of interest free credit, and providing you repay the balance within that period you will not be charged interest. The 0% does not apply to cash transactions or cash withdrawals however, so these should be avoided.
Rewards based credit cards
A rewards based credit card is best suited to those that use their cards regularly and repay the balance in full each month, hence do not get charged any interest. By using the card regularly to make purchases you can accrue rewards such as cash back, air miles, rewards points, etc.
By repaying the balance each month in full you will also avoid paying interest, so in effect you will actually be making money or earning rewards for using your card without that rewards being offset by the interest that you have to pay.
It is vitally important that you understand that in the majority of cases in which you use either cash back or rewards credit cards that if you do not pay the balance of your credit card in full every month then any benefit that your receive from the card will be wiped out by the interest payments. If you can't repay the balance in full every month then you should consider applying for a different type of credit card.
