Comparing Credit Cards, Don’t Forget the Fine Print!

Fine print. Shouldn’t that stuff be for fairies and other tiny things that can actually read that small type? You want to read it – but you don’t. You know you should read it – but you still don’t. Well, the time has come. You have to read the find print if you ever want to know the details about your credit card – simply comparing credit cards is not enough.

Without the fine print, a lot of companies would be in trouble for not supplying people with all the information about their product. Except they know we are not into reading the legal jargon set in tiny font. This is what catches us into their net of bad credit cards.

Actually, it is not so much that the credit card is bad, but rather, our failure to understand the details of that particular credit card that come back to haunt us and our monthly bills. Everything you need to know about your credit card is right there in that fine print. You just have to take some time out and comb through it in order to find out why you have been paying an extra fee or if there are any surprise charges you should be aware of.

The first thing you need to keep in mind is how the terms of your credit card contract can change at any time. Even if you seem to have the lowest APR credit card, something may happen that requires your card company to raise your rate even if you have a good credit standing.

If you have a no fee credit card, the company may institute a fee at some point. Your credit card bill will have updates on it, such as a notice information you of information such as a change in your APR or your credit limit getting raised from $2,000 to $2,500. Always pay attention to your credit card information even after initially filling out that first credit card application online.

A lot of credit card offers have a number of appealing goodies to lure you in. 0 balance transfer credit cards, rewards cards, no fee credit cards, and even the lowest APR credit cards usually have some kind of extra catch waiting in the wings. The 0 balance transfer credit cards apply your payments to the balance transfer first and not new purchases.

Rewards cards usually come with high APRs, no fee credit cards may also have high APRs or fees that can crop up if you fail to make a payment or as another penalty, and cards with a low APR may only be an introductory rate for a certain amount of time before jumping to a much higher rate. None of these should be surprises though. Only if you fail to read the fine print will you be irritated when something like this happens because you did not see it coming.

When you check out the fine print, you can know the time limits on introductory rates, what the fees will be and how and when they will be applied, what APR your card may have in the case that you fail to make a payment on time or what you may receive from the start (if you have not yet applied for the card), and the rates on other items such as balance transfers and cash advances. The fine print is the encyclopedia to your credit card (or future credit card). When doing a search for credit cards, you can first check out their main points before digging into the fine print to make some vary thorough comparisons.

For example, let us say you were looking at two different rewards cards, both of which seemed very promising with some good rewards. But once you read the fine print, you might see that rewards card X will give you an APR of 23.99% and cash back only on certain purchases.

On the other hand, rewards card Y will give you cash back on a larger number of purchases and will only have an APR of 19.99%. If you pay your balance off every month, the APR might matter little to you, especially if after responsible use of your card the APR goes down. Knowing the amount of cash back you would get on the number of purchases you make will be the deciding factor between rewards card X and rewards card Y.

You should also pay close attention to your grace period so you can avoid getting caught with a late payment, and be wary of your credit limit. Even if the credit card application online boasts a $5,000 credit limit, your credit history may dictate otherwise, earning you only a $3,000 credit limit. By having a good grip on both your credit history as well as the fine print, you can be better in control of the credit card you decide to use.