How To Decide What Credit Card To Get
How To Decide What Credit Card To Get – By Meredith Hoffman Meredith Hoffman Arrow Right Credit Card Correspondent Meredith Hoffman is a personal finance writer. Originally from Columbia, S.C., he received his bachelor’s degree from the Univ in Wilmington, North Carolina Prior to joining in October 2019, Meredith served as news editor for The Seahawk, a local newspaper in Wilmington. LinkedIn Connect with Meredith Hoffman on LinkedIn
Edited by Maria Accari Maria Accari Arrow Right Editor Maria Accari is a personal finance editor. Connect with Maria Accari on Twitter
How To Decide What Credit Card To Get
. The content of this page is accurate as of the date of posting; However, some of the mentioned offers may have expired Terms apply to the offers listed on this page Any opinion, analysis, review or recommendation expressed in this article is solely the author’s and has not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any card issuer.
How To Choose The Right Credit Card
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How To Choose A Credit Card For You
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These days, there are many good options for credit card applicants Ironically, having too many options can make the decision more difficult What kind of offers should you be looking for? Is the annual fee worth it?
To make the process easier, we’ve created four steps to help you find the best credit card for your spending habits and your financial goals.
The first step to finding the right credit card is to check your credit score Most top rewards credit cards require at least good credit, but there are cards for people with fair credit, and cards for customers with no credit or limited credit history.
How To Choose A Credit Card That’s Right For You
Why not just apply for a few cards until you get accepted? Anytime you apply for a new credit card, you can do a hard check on your credit report, which will temporarily lower your credit score and stay on your credit report for two years. Also, pulling too hard in a short period of time can hurt your chances of getting approved for the card in the future
Fortunately, there are many free ways to check your credit score If your credit isn’t as good as you hoped, spend some time improving it before applying for a credit card. Often, the most effective (and easiest) ways to improve credit are to pay all your bills early or on time and pay off debt to lower your credit utilization.
Once you know what types of cards you may qualify for, it’s time to start choosing What should a credit card do for you? Build your credit score? Earn rewards? Generally, credit cards fall into one of the following categories
Responsible use of any credit card can improve your credit score, but there are credit cards designed for people with bad credit or limited credit history. They are relatively easy to qualify Here are our picks for the best cards for bad credit and the best cards for no credit history.
How To Choose A Credit Card
Credit building cards come in a few basic types, such as secured credit cards, unsecured credit building cards, and student loan cards.
Secured cards work like traditional credit cards, with one key difference – you must put down a deposit when you become a cardholder. Your deposit is equal to your credit limit and is refunded when you close the card or upgrade to an unsecured card. If you decide to go this route, here are our picks for the best secured cards
Unsecured credit building cards, as the name suggests, do not require a security deposit With no deposit required, approving customers for these cards is risky for lenders. As a result, unsecured credit building cards often have high fees and low credit limits. For this reason, if you can afford a security deposit, we recommend a secured credit card instead.
Student cards can be secured or unsecured and are generally only available to current students The best student credit cards carry lower fees than typical credit-building cards and often come with student-friendly offers.
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Balance transfer credit cards are great if you have to pay off debt You can transfer debt from one or more credit cards to a balance transfer card with a low APR and have the opportunity to squeeze in your balance and save on interest payments.
These cards typically offer lower-than-average or 0 percent introductory APRs on balance transfers for at least several months and more than a year. During this period, you can contribute more towards your principal balance and pay less interest Make sure you have a pay-off plan before you get started, as any remaining balance at the end of your introductory APR period will be subject to the card’s regular APR.
If your current credit card has a high interest rate, a good balance transfer card with a low or 0 percent introductory APR can be a lifesaver as you work to pay down debt efficiently and affordably. However, you generally need good to excellent credit to qualify These cards don’t offer rewards or many offers, as the initial APR is the primary benefit
Low-interest credit cards are ideal if you need to reduce interest payments as well as spend over time. These cards come in two main forms, those that offer a lower than average credit card APR or a 0 percent introductory APR on new purchases.
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If you have big expenses like home repairs, moving or renovations, a card with an incentive APR on purchases can be very beneficial.
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