How to Find the Best Credit Card Rate

Is there a more seductive offer than credit cards? Money and convenience now for a nominal fee later. What could be more attractive? Certainly not a clear and concise contract, since no company has offered one of those.

Wading through credit card contracts is difficult. There's a distinct lack of tools to compare them and if you try to find info online you'll find yourself awash in misinformation. Hopefully this page answers enough of your questions that the next time you go looking for a new credit card you'll be able to find the one that's right for you.

Where To Look

Here's a list of sites that provide useful information. Unfortunately the way the web works, if they let their domain expire or get sold out who knows so, as always, caveat emptor.

• Bankrate.com In addition to having a thorough tool for comparing current credit card offers, they have a wealth of other credit card information available on their site like how to check your credit score and how to get your first credit card.
• FatWallet Forums "Which Credit Card Should I Get?" It's a forum so there's a lot promotional posts and the thread isn't updated frequently, but there are some smart people on there who don't mind reading the fine print.
  
• CreditBoards.com is a decent site with a thread on almost every card offer you can think of.
• CreditCardTuneup.com is my favorite. It's an online tool that allows you to enter spending habits to find out which plan is the best for you.

What To Look For
There are more features in a standard credit card plan then there are in an IPhone. But how many really matter? It depends on your spending pattern, but unless you're a high-volume business user we can narrow it down to a few:

• APR The Annual Percentage Rate is the least important feature of a new credit card. First, it's the most subject to change, they can raise it at any time with 15 days notice. Second, if you're paying your full amount off every month it shouldn't matter. If you're not paying your credit cards off in full every month you're doing it wrong.
• Annual Fee If your credit score is over 620(gambling hillbilly level) you should never, ever get a card with an annual fee. The fee will likely wipe out any money you get from bonuses or discounts.
• Grace Period The grace period is the amount of time you have to pay off your credit card bill before interest is applied. Typically it's 25 days, sometimes they skimp it down to 20. Never, ever take a credit card that doesn't have a grace period (very few don't).
• Autopay Unless you are a financial wizard or very organized it's always a good idea to find a card that will allow you to automatically pay your balance in full every month. This is one of the things that makes card offers from your bank or credit union very convenient.
• Transfer Fee If you plan to move a credit card balance to a new, lower rate card you have to check if your new card has a transfer fee. These can be up to 5% which gets pretty expensive if you have a hefty balance. Some cards have a transfer fee that maxes out at $25 to $40, which is still unpleasant but better than the alternative.
  
• Bonuses This is where credit card offers get really hairy. How much should you get back? Should it be in cash or gift cards or airline miles? Truth be told unless you're a business traveler the cash back is a better deal than the airline miles. But before you go and settle on a card check which stores you spend the most at. Most big stores have some credit card that gives 3% back on their purchases and 1% back everywhere else.

Bonus
Here are a couple of bonus tips on getting the best credit card.

• According to the October 2007 of consumer reports, you'll usually get a better credit card deal from a credit union than a bank. And since pretty much anyone can join a credit union now there's nothing stopping you.
• If you just need a better APR and don't want to go through the hassle of finding a new card, try calling your current credit card company. Over 50% of the people with a good payment history who ask are given a better rate.

So there you have it. Remember that a credit card isn't about the best rate, it's about the best fit. You need to look at where you spend your money,find all the offers available to you and start going over them one by one until you find the credit card that's right for you. And failing all that see what you can get out of your current card by threatening to leave. Remember they need you more than you need them.