Learn How To Find The Best Credit Card Deals in the UK|Best Credit Card deals in the Uk some 0% interest

Making sure that you pay the lowest rate of interest chargeable on your credit card usage is vital if you want to maintain an effective money management scheme. As such, knowing how to make sure you pay the lowest interest rate on your credit card should be viewed as an essential element to deciding which credit card you should select.

As we all know, credit card companies are not in the business of giving away a free service and one of the ways in which they make a big part of their income is charging interest on any balance you carry-over from one payment period to another. Although this interest is charged monthly, interest accrues on interest and consequently credit card companies are required (in most cases by consumer law) to advertise their interest rates not as a monthly sum, for example 1.9%, but rather as annual figure, for example 22%. Because the interest rate advertised is calculated over the period of a year, it is known as the Annual Percentage Rate, or APR for short, and is the quickest way of telling which credit card company charges the lowest rate of interest for using their card.

Having said this, there are a couple of additional things you need to keep in mind when comparing the APR advertised by different card issuers, namely:

Annual Fees

Does the issuer you are considering using charge any annual membership fees? This is an important question because some issuers can ‘hide’ fees payable for using their card in the form of an annual fee. Indirectly this allows them to lower their APR comparable to those issuers who do not charge membership fees. However, when you include the membership fee as part of the interest rate, often the amount you are being charged is higher than if you had decided to use the services of a provider that charged a slightly higher APR, but no annual membership fee.

Credit Rating

Your credit rating will affect the interest rate you pay on nearly all your borrowing and a credit card is no different in this regard. If you have a good credit rating, you should be expecting to pay less APR. Conversely, if you have a bad credit rating, you should not be too surprised if you find that you are being asked to pay a higher APR.

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It would be hard to emphasis how important making at least the minimum repayment on your credit card each month is. If you do not, you will likely find that your provider will increase the rate of interest you are being charged on your account. Sometimes this can occur even though it may not have been your fault that the payment was made late, for example you made the payment but it was received late, and without the provider being required to inform you that this default caused the interest rate on your credit card to change. It is, therefore, imperative that you read the small print of any application form you complete to check and see if the interest rate will change because of any non-payment or late payment and if the issuer will be obligated to inform you that the interest rate has changed.

Of course, the only way to make sure that you pay no APR on your credit card usage is to ensure that you clear your credit card balance each statement payment date. Unfortunately, however, most of us are cannot afford the luxury of paying off our credit balance each statement period and the card issuers know this. So, to make sure you are paying the lowest APR possible, read the fine print of the application form and make sure there are no hidden extra fees or charges and that the rate of interest you are paying really is the card’s advertised APR!

“Which bank’s credit card do you have?”, “what is its credit limit”, “what type of card is it”…such questions are on everybody’s lips today. The world seems to have been squeezed and wrapped into a credit card. Nowadays everybody speaks and grasps the language of credit cards. The credit card syndrome seems to have gripped all of us.
But are credit cards only beneficial? Let us analyze the pros and cons of this pocket plastic and see what outweighs the other.

The Benefits of a Credit Card:

•    Keep heavy cash in abeyance—money is the most coveted thing in this world. Carrying lot of cash wherever you go is always a bone of contention. A credit card facilitates you to travel without heavy cash and have a carefree and happy trip or shopping.

•    Imagine yourself out for shopping in a wonderful mall. While you shop, you remember to take boots for your son, spectacles for mother, necklace for your beloved wife…but falling short of money! The credit card is your best friend in such a situation.

•    Even if you lose your credit card, you need not be apprehensive and scared the way you get when you lose your cash. This is because you can get the card freezed or blocked from the bank and relax.

•    Credit card works anywhere and everywhere nowadays. You just need to bag your card and make a move to any destination without bothering for money.

•    Loan facility can also be availed via credit cards.

The Negative Aspect of Surge in Credit Card usage

•    Generally everybody does not meet the eligibility criterion to hold a credit card. yet in order to enhance their sales and as part of marketing strategies, companies, private banks etc. do away with giving these cards to who so ever caters even to the minimum terms and conditions.

•    The loan factor-the cards provide you with huge credit limits. The consumer ignorant of the forthcoming trouble, keeps on drawing money from his card and most often when he realizes his mistake, it is too late. He not only comes in the debt of the money he withdrew but also the massive interest that is charged by these companies and banks.

•    Many credit card companies provide lucrative offers almost every month in the form of incentives. These incentives are basically meant to boost the sale of their product. Incentives like travel programs, gas purchases etc. are a very common phenomenon these days. But one should not get lured by these for it is well said that everything that glitters is not gold. Initially the cards might be promising for some cheerful moments but once you become habitual of them they can land you in soup.

•    The addictiveness- it is most often the addictiveness of these cards that is a source of trouble. People, who keep on drawing from the bank’s or company’s credit, suffer largely.

•    Debit cards are believed to be different from the credit cards. But actually the difference is minute. A debit card can also be used as a credit card at times and there are some eminent banks that charge fee with the debit cards too. So more or less the situation remains to be the same.

When you make up your mind to go for a debit card, consult some advisor. Know the details of the interest rate, the tenure to repay the amount and other such things. Do not be carried away by brand names. Just make a survey first and then decide which one to go for.