What to Look out for When Obtaining a Credit Card
A lot of people already own a personal credit card, but more and
more people still want another credit card in their
'collection'. Their reasons may definitely vary, may it be for
sheer vanity, or just something that can be used for emergencies
or for their everyday needs, but one thing's for certain -
there's always a growing demand for credit cards. This causes
the credit cards to become more and more competitive with each
other as they battle it out in order to get the client's favor.
This will actually prove to be more beneficial for you as credit
card companies are getting keener on getting on your good side.
It is a possibility that they'll start offering more and more
favorable terms for you. However, don't always fall for their
seemingly easy and simple terms. One must always remember to
read the fine print first when it comes to dealing with things
like this.
Some guidelines on what to look out for when obtaining a credit
card:
* Make sure that you understand credit card terminology, at
least the ones that are most commonly used so that you won't end
up getting duped by the highfalutin and easily confusing words
that are often being used when it comes to credit card clauses
and statements. Never ever sign anything that you don't fully
understand as well as something that has just been explained to
you by the credit card agent, always ask the advice of someone
that you really trust - who, hopefully knows a whole lot about
credit cards, before you sign the dotted line. * Learn the art
of transferring debts from high rates. Simply put, credit card
companies are always bombarding people with so many offers about
teaser rates, these rates are the incredibly low interest rates
that you'll be able to enjoy for a year, however, the catch is
when that one year is over, here comes the actual high rates
that you'll soon have to start paying off again. So the way to
not get stuck with incredibly high interest rates is to transfer
your debt way ahead of your current credit card's one year
expiration to a new teaser card. If you do this you'll keep on
enjoying the incredibly low rates that credit card companies
offer. The great thing about this is that you can do this year
after year till you've actually paid off all your credit card
debt. * Be aware of special offers from credit card companies.
Always, always read the fine print first. Yes, a free vacation
is tempting, even a free iPod is already tempting enough for you
to be able to sign on the dotted line. But, before committing
yourself to possible financially crippling debt, you must first
listen to your practical side, is having a free vacation really
worth that high interest rate? Or would you just be better off
saving for one instead? Think first and do not get easily lured
in by special offers. * Lastly, why don't you try joining a
credit union? In spite of being solely focused on the welfare of
their member-owners, credit unions will probably prove to be
very beneficial for you as you will be assured that they'd
really make the effort to give you the most favorable rates
possible on savings investment as well as very competitively
priced and very, very low interest rates. Credit card unions are
actually non-profit so you're sure that they're operating at a
much lower cost as compared to most profit oriented
organizations.