The Finance Blogger

Finding the lowest interest rate credit card can be complicated since there are so many factors to consider. They make it this way sometimes to confuse us as consumers. Yet if you do a little homework you can quickly pick out the deals that make sense for your particular situation. The credit card companies are trying to cater to everyone’s specific needs and increase business. They make money with every transaction and especially if you carry a balance past your due date.

Lowest Interest Credit Card

There is a balance to all of these attributes for a credit card in addition to low interest rates for credit cards. Consumers will have to take into account all of the costs before they make a decision regarding which credit card to select. Some of the factors to take into account are:

• Annual fee
• Retail rate
• Balance transfer
• Cash advances
• Travel benefits
• Other benefits

Annual fee –

the annual fee for a card varies from zero dollars to several hundred dollars a year. However many cards that charge a fee are in the $30 range. These fees often offset the interest charges that are forgone for debt transfers from other cards. They also help to defray costs associated with benefits that you may receive for travel etc. Consumers will have to compare the benefits received compared the interest rates that are charged.

Retail rate – the retail rate is the rate charged for retail purchases charged to your card and the balance is carried over to the next month. This is the rate that most people will pay for all of the overdue balances on their cards. Store cards will charge as much as 28%. Most cards charge in the 19% range and low interest rate cards will charge in the 12% range for overdue balances.

Balance transfer –

As an enticement, credit cards will lower the interest rate they charge on balances transferred from other cards. There is usually a grace period of a number of months were this rate applies. Then the interest rate will revert to the higher retail rate. The interest rate on balance transfers can be as low as zero % to 10%,. This depends on the card and the credit card company.

Cash advances – sometimes cash advances are need to get you through a difficult financial period. These are known as cash advances and many companies will charge the retail rate or even higher from the date the cash advance was taken out until it is paid off in full. The rate can be higher than the retail rate in many situations.

Travel benefits – with all of these charges that we discussed above, there may be other benefits that are considered useful to some consumers depending on their life style. Travel benefits, health benefits when traveling, points for purchases and insurance for purchases may also be of interest.

Other benefits

Depending on the card there may be other benefits that are attractive to consumers as well. Depending on your life style and your personal needs, when you look at all of the costs and benefits, one card may stand out from another. This card will match your current needs, your long term needs and your life style making it a perfect card for you.

With so many cards available, and so much competition for your credit dollar, these credit card companies are offering great deals and it is definitely worth it to take the time to select the best one to that gives you the lowest interest rate and the best overall deal. We made a small spreadsheet so that we could list all of the options and the benefits along with the interest rates they were offering so that we could make sure that we put the most money in our pocket and not the pocket of the credit card companies. If you can, always pay the balance in full each month to avoid any additional interest charges. This is by far the best way to reduce your overall interest charges.

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