Tips on Careful Credit Card Selection

By: Jim Brown

Many consumers use credit card comparisons to guide them while selecting a credit card. There is a wide assortment of credit available through credit card financers and each has a particular feature that customers consider when they do credit card comparisons. To meet several needs, a client might submit a credit application for a credit card to several companies at once. One credit card might be used for business purposes and another will be used for any personal needs.

With each credit card issued, a consumer assumes a certain amount of liability, and overextending credit and being unable to make payments on time could ultimately destroy a good credit rating. Credit card comparisons will allow consumers to make credit work on their behalf at times, while satisfying a credit need for personal or business purposes. How well the credit card fulfills those needs is what credit card comparisons are all about and customers will consider each feature carefully.

Credit cards have certain perks and benefits and people use credit card comparisons to examine every benefit fully and concisely. The list of credit cards worthy of consideration will be long at the start of the comparison, but with a little work, the list will dwindle down to one or two at the end of the comparison. Some people create spreadsheets with columns for each benefit, and then browse through credit card comparison sites and fill in the blocks for the benefits that apply to a credit card. This approach to card comparisons will keep consumers on track throughout the process.

The credit card comparison chart might reveal credit cards that offer two benefits with one card. Credit customers might find a credit card with cash back incentives on all purchases and the card might offer the customer an option on the application to transfer balances from other credit cards. That option might include transferring balances with a 0% interest rate for six months or a lower rate might be offered on those balances, which is still lower than what they currently pay on balances that they have on several credit cards.

For people that do credit card comparisons on cards used for business, the balance transfer options might apply at the introductory interest rate of 0%, but the client might discover that the credit limit is too low for business needs. Other credit limits on business credit might be open ended, but the business credit card account would be charged an annual fee that is currently not a requirement on the business card currently in use by personnel at work. If credit limits are not high, the business owner can view comparisons on prepaid debit cards for company use.

Some families are simply interested in doing credit card comparisons to learn which card provide rewards. Families have learned through credit card comparisons that they can be rewarded for buying groceries with a certain card, and others will allow the family to earn rewards for sports memorabilia or tickets to a baseball game. Some families prefer to use credit cards only when the family goes on vacation. The credit comparisons will identify the theme parks that participate in reward programs.

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