5 Tips to Selecting a Credit Card

By: Jessica Mousseau

Break Studios Contributing Writer

You may be wondering why anyone would need an article offering 5 tips to selecting a credit card. Choosing a credit card may not seem like a big deal to you, but the truth is that it should be.

These tips for selecting a credit card are by no means all-inclusive; you may come up with some more on your own. That’s why these are just some guidelines to get you started.

The first and possibly most important of the 5 tips to selecting a credit card is to compare interest rates. You don’t want to compare the introductory rates offered by so many companies, as they will change. Instead, you want to compare the actual annual percentage rate (APR) that you will be charged once the introductory rate on your credit card has expired.
Another one of the tips for selecting a credit card you may wish to consider is how widely it is accepted. One place may gladly accept your credit card while the store right down the street will not. Therefore, make sure the credit card you choose has a high acceptability rate. This one of the 5 tips to selecting a credit card is very important if you do not plan to own but one credit card.
You may also wish to include payment terms as another of the 5 tips to selecting a credit card. While many credit card companies allow you to carry a balance over from month to month, others require that the balance be paid in full each month, or at least within a specific time period. If you can’t afford to pay a card off within a certain amount of time, you will want to consider another one.
With the increase in identity theft, you may want one of the 5 tips to selecting a credit card to be the issuing company’s policy regarding your payment responsibility should identity theft occur. In fact, this might be considered one of the more important tips for selecting a credit card. How much you will be expected to pay should your card be used fraudulently varies among companies. Some may require that you only pay a token amount, for instance, $50, while others may require you to pay much more.
Finally, consider the company itself. You may want to ask yourself such questions as how long the company has been in business and how solvent it is (especially if the credit cards are issued or supported by a financial institute).