Sometimes It' S The Gas Rewards Card

Category: Finance, Credit.

There are a lot of good deals to be had on credit cards right now. You have to think about what it is you need from your credit cards.

But what is a good deal to you may not be a good deal to another consumer. Take the introductory 0% APR deals. Then again, which 0% APR really means most to you? They may sound great to you if you have a balance you' d like to transfer over, but for someone who isn' t going to be carrying a balance, who cares? 0% APR means nothing to them. Is it better on purchases or balance transfers? Will you be saving enough money to chose that card over this card? What about the balance transfer fee?

You really have to think carefully. These cards are best for people who won' t be carrying a balance, as higher interest rates generally easily eat up the reward value. For other people, it's all about the rewards. But which reward is best depends on your shopping habits. You earn rewards on shopping in general, but higher rewards at selected gas stations. Sometimes it's the gas rewards card.

For others it will be the travel rewards card. Of course, anyone carrying a balance wants a lot interest rate in the long run. You' re going places and the card helps cut your costs. It just makes sense. Some require better credit than others, but so long as you have a reasonably decent history, you can get a fairly low rate in many cases. And there are plenty of credit cards out there offering just that. It may be a matter of asking your current credit company for it, or it may be a matter of applying for a new card and moving things over.

The big thing to watch out for are the other terms. At the very least, if you are pretty sure of being approved there is little enough harm in applying for a credit card with a better interest rate. Annual fees are not too hard to avoid these days, but you should definitely be on the watch for them. These things can become extremely relevant rather unexpectedly. You' ll also want to know what happens to your APR if you miss a payment. There's no good reason to be caught off guard. Do your research and figure out what is really going to give you what you want from a credit card.

There's no reason to settle for the first credit card application that falls into your mail slot. You' ll be much happier with it in the long run.