Savvy consumers in general have the tendency to compare, review and analyze the pros and cons of any product before they purchase. Nowadays, the craze for reviews and consumer opinions have sky rocketed so high that one out of every fifty websites is a review site.
Credit cards are also subject to these general consumer trends and most of the credit savvy consumers like to check the credit card ratings before they can make a decision about applying for a new credit card.
What are credit card ratings?
Credit card ratings are nothing but ratings or points assigned to credit cards by the people who review the pros and cons of the cards. It goes without saying that credit card ratings are very important in deciding the popularity or notoriety of a credit card.
Credit card consumers are now becoming more and more aware of the significance of credit card ratings and this awareness has directly fuelled the mushrooming of numerous credit review sites all over the internet.
Criteria used for credit card ratings
There are many different criteria that are used by credit card review websites. Some of the credit card ratings are based on APR rates of interest. Those with the highest rates of interest get low credit card ratings while the ones with the lowest APR or 0% APR get the best ratings.
Again there is another criterion that is popularly used to rate credit cards: “The rewards feature”. More the number of rewards that the credit card provides to the user, the better is the rating given for that card by the credit card reviewer.
Similarly, there is yet another criterion — approval rates. Some credit cards are very difficult to get approval for, while others are relatively easier. Obviously the ones with easier approval or instant approval get higher ratings and vice versa.
Credit card ratings could also be based on the category / group of consumers that the credit cards are targeted to. Like there could be ratings for student credit cards, business credit cards, bad credit credit cards, no credit credit cards, and other similar classifications.
Whatever the standards, there is one important thing that every consumer must be aware of before depending on these credit card ratings for credit card applications. Not all the credit card ratings can be relied upon. There are certain sites that rate the cards solely upon the commission that they get from making a successful sale. The reviews offered by such sites will no doubt be biased and less targeted to benefit the consumer.
Credit card ratings are an excellent way to get a quick and clear idea about top-performing credit cards in the category that you are searching for.
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