If you never have had a credit card before and are desiring to get one, there are some things you must know before applying for one. Read on and we’ll take a look at some handy advice that can help you find the best card out there.
Prior Credit – Some of the easiest cards to get are the store cards. You know: Sears, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and the like. In many of these cases all you need to do is fill out an application, share some work information, and within moments you can get a card. By getting this type of a card and making payments monthly you can quickly prove that you are worthy of additional credit. Consider gas cards too such as Shell and Exxon.
Bill Paying History – If you have an account with the phone company, a cell phone vendor, the electric company, or the cable company and have paid your bills on time, then you probably have good credit established already.
With these two points in mind, now you can shop for a card that is right for you. Discover, American Express, Visa, and MasterCard are the biggest network cards out there and their cards are usable most anywhere. Generally, wherever Visa is accepted so is MasterCard; millions of merchants around the globe.
Once you have narrowed down your card network, and then start shopping for a card. Things you must ask yourself include:
Do I want to pay an annual fee? Or, are annual fees waived for the first year?
Do I want a low APR or is a variable rate APR okay with me?
Is a balance transfer option important? How about balance transfer fees?
Will I be paying off my card every month or carrying balances?
Is receiving rewards important to me? What kind: airline miles, hotel stays, cash back?
How long is the grace period? 25 days or will I be assessed interest charges immediately?
What other perks are important to me? Travel insurance, road service, etc.
Once you have determined what you want, then shop for a card meeting your criteria. Dismiss all of the cards that don’t fit your needs and narrow down the list to 3 or 4 cards. From there on, read all the fine print to learn exactly what you want in a card. Chances are it’ll be mostly a judgment call from this point forward as many cards are quite similar to each other.
By: Adam J. Heist