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Credit Card Choices Can Be So Confusing!

Posted by J.S.

July 28, 2008

My goodness have you looked into the various credit card choices that are available today? This one may have a low interest rate, but a ridiculous annual fee, and that one may have no black out dates for air travel, but can only be used every third Wednesday of the month. Or what about the offer you hear – that it offers cash back on specific purchases – but what the heck are those specific purchases anyway?

The credit card choices available today can be so confusing to the average person, so how does one figure out the best credit card to get? If you do an online search of the words credit cards, you will get more responses than you could realistically look at in weeks.

In order to figure out which of the multiple credit card choices that available is the best one(s) for you, first you should probably have a good idea of what your credit rating is. If you do not know, you can easily get this information from any of the major credit rating companies. This can be accomplished in one of two ways, either request it and pay the fee they ask or apply for credit and if your request is denied, the company that denied you will send you a form that will state which one of the major credit rating companies denied you – and they have to send you a free credit report. Knowing before applying for credit is usually your best option.

After you know what your credit score or FICO® Score is, then you can take the time to decide which credit cards you are eligible for. For the purpose of this discussion, we will imagine you have limited to good credit. There are still multiple options that are available for you. Before you begin your search, ask yourself what benefits are important to you. If you are a frequent flyer, especially now with fuel prices what they are and airfare increasing by the day, frequent flyer miles may be critical for you. However, if you do not travel often or fly ever, then maybe earning cash credits, the interest rate on unpaid balances or even a lower annual fee may be the best benefit for you.

Regardless of what your preferred benefits may be, there is a credit card choice out there for you. Remember to pay attention to the small print. Most importantly, understand the entire fee structure including the annual payments, late fees, as well as the interest rate.