Every credit card company
advertises a cheap credit card that won't burn a hole in the pocket yet
only a few actually live up to their claims. So what exactly is a cheap
credit card? It really depends on what you define as cheap -- low
interest rates, no/low annual fee, lower finance charges, etc. So how
does one go about securing a cheap credit card exactly? We have
outlined a few simple steps:
How's your credit?
The better your credit, the easier it will be for you to obtain a good
credit card deal (cheap credit card if that's what you like to call
it). If your current credit rating is not very good, you must make an
attempt to improve it. Our article on
improving credit may help you in this
direction. In addition,
FTC's website is also a very good
resource.
Hunt them down. When
you are in shopping mode, don't you hunt down the best deals -- online
and off-line? The same can be done for credit cards as well. Carefully
research different credit card offers available. Make a comparison table for evaluating the different
terms, such as APR, Annual Fee, Finance Charges, etc. DontSpendMore.com
has made the job slightly easier for you. We have already tabulated key
terms, allowing you to
compare cheap credit card deals at one
glance. Don't ever miss reading the fine print to clearly understand
what you are getting into.
Initiate a balance transfer.
If your current credit card issuer charges you very high interest
rates, call them and request for a lower interest rate. If they refuse,
initiate a balance transfer and transfer your existing balances to a
cheap credit card with a low or 0 APR. Be careful again! Sometimes the APR
may change to a higher APR after a certain time period. You must read
the disclosure statement to understand these terms. Our article on
balance transfer provides some
additional hints in this direction.