Credit Card Guide: As the cash dominated economy makes a rapid shift towards plastic money, the segment of credit card users is rapidly expanding. Inspite of having a wide range of choices in terms of plastic money, what makes the credit card more desirable is its ability to provide ownership of a product or service to its users along with a credit period for its payment. Unlike debit cards, there is no instant cash deduction from your account.
Although the concept of credit cards is not new to the people, the major issue surfacing the subscription for credit card is which type of credit card should be subscribed to?
The lack of financial literacy about credit cards often makes it problematic for credit card users to get maximum benefits of these credit cards. Thus, to simplify this problem, here are 5 critical components that you need to consider while subscribing for a credit card.
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- Motive: Before choosing a particular credit card type, ensure that you are crystal clear with the purpose for using the credit card. Depending upon whether you would be using credit cards periodically or for your recurrent purchases or only during emergencies; you can choose your credit card accordingly.
- Interest Rates: Interest rates refers to a process of charging a certain amount to the user of the card in return of credit facility being provided to him. These interest rates can either be fixed or variable depending upon your credit card. Often it is advised by many to opt for a periodic fixed interest rate over the variable one as it helps to economize on your financial budget.
- Credit Limit: Credit limit is a provision made in for the users to borrow the amount up to the specified limit without any penalties being charged for the same. If you are among those who would prefer to go cashless and swipe a credit card on almost every purchase then it would be advisable for you to opt for a credit card with higher credit limit. However, it’s better to keep an eye on your purchases to avoid any unforeseen surprises down the lane.
- Grace Period: After issuing a credit card statement, a period of 3 days that is the grace period is granted to the users to pay off their dues. If a particular user exceeds the grace period, then the credit issuing organization is entitled to charge a penalty on the users owning to the late payment.
- Rewards: Along with the credit facility, credit cards also provides in a variety of rewards like discounts, rebates or cash back offers which are specifically limited to shopping or for traveling purposes. At such times, understanding the critical components like limit or validity of reward points is crucial so that you don’t miss on these benefits.
So now that you are well aware of the basic components of credit cards, we hope our article would be useful in making a right choice for your credit card! In case of any queries, feel free to ask them through your comments.