Credit Cards to Avoid
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by: barrywaters
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Word Count: 479
Youre wise in the ways of credit cards. Offers of 0% interest rates dont fool you, and you know what APR means. But do you know all the other stunts credit cards can try to pull? Before you fill out a new application, check to see whether it is on this list of credit cards to avoid.
• Credit cards bearing a yearly fee. Once upon a time, credit was extended only to the wealthy, and they were willing to pay to own a credit card. Annual fees are a relic of those days. Now, with every department store, clothing store, and small club offering its own credit card, theres no reason to pay a fee. If you find an offer thats perfect apart from an annual feel, call the company and ask them to waive the fee. Many issuers are happy to waive the fee in exchange for your custom.
• Credit cards that charge a fee to allow you to pay your bill over the phone or the Internet. These fees are soon to be a throwback, but for now, many companies are still getting away with charging more tech savvy consumers for using electronic methods of payment. If the card you want levies these fees, check to see whether only expedited payments carry a fee, or all payments are hit. If normal electronic payments dont have a fee and only expedited payments (rush payments you make when there is no time to get any other form of payment in before the deadline) carry a fee, the card may still be a good deal. (Just keep an eye on your due dates.) If the card levies a fee for any regular telephone or online payment, throw the offer away and find a card thats a little farther into the twenty first century.
• Credit cards with monthly maintenance fees. Cards with these fees are designed for consumers with poor credit ratings who cannot qualify for any other cards. To make matters even better, such cards usually have a credit limit so low that the fees quickly eat up the available balance. If your credit rating is in the dumps, avoid the temptation to improve it with one of these cards. Get together a small deposit and take out a secured credit card with a reputable lender. The credit limit on a secured card is the amount of the deposit you leave, and the credit line is backed by the deposit.
With the range of credit cards available to everyone, even people with bad credit can find a credit card that does not take advantage of them. Read the fine print carefully until you understand all the details, and call the issuer if you have questions. You deserve a credit card that helps, not hurts, your financial situation.
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Learn the real scoop on credit cards for bad credit, try getsmart.com/credit-cards.
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