Credit Card Features

In this last article of the series on credit cards we're going to discuss some of the features of credit cards. These are as numerous as the number of cards itself. These features will not be in any particular order. Of course the main feature of a credit card is the interest rate you pay on any unpaid balance. With most cards, after your initial purchase, you get 30 days to make your payment. If you pay the balance off in full, which is actually required with some cards like American Express, then there is no interest charge because there is no balance left to pay. However, if the charges are not paid off within 30 days then the remaining balance is carried over with an interest rate charge. The rate depends on a number of factors including the current APR and the customer's credit rating. Persons with a good credit rating get a better rate than those with a poorer credit rating. Another feature of credit cards is of course your credit limit. This is the amount of money you are allowed to charge to your card before the credit card company cuts you off. Again, the credit limit will usually depend on the cardholder's credit rating. Persons with a good rating will have a higher credit limit than those with a poorer rating. A feature of credit cards that most people overlook, and this is where they get killed, are fees associated with just having the credit card. This is called an annual fee. Today, many cards have no annual fee but for those with poor credit these are hard to come by. Other fees are cash advance fees, balance transfer fees, late payment fees and penalties, which usually result in higher interest rates, over credit limit fees, credit limit increase fees, setup fees, return item fees, and a host of miscellaneous fees that each cardholder should review before using their card. Then of course there is the kind of card itself, which is a feature. There are basically three types of credit cards; secured cards, regular cards and premium cards. Secured cards require a security deposit. The larger the security deposit the higher the credit limit the person gets. Secured cards are usually gotten by people with limited credit histories who have trouble getting cards. Regular cards don't require any security deposit and have higher credit limits than those cards but not as high as premium cards. They also don't have as many features and benefits. Premium cards have the highest credit limits and come with a number of extra features such as product warranties, travel insurance, or emergency services. Other features of credit cards are rebates on purchased items. Some of these cards refer to these as cash back incentives. This is where when you make a purchase, say for $100, you get a percentage of that money back. The percentage of the money you get back depends on the card. One of the first credit cards to offer this feature was the Discover Card. These are the basic features of most credit cards. To get a list of the specific features of the card you have or want to get you will have to contact the credit card company itself for this information.