Credit cards with high fees that are charged even if you never make a purchase. Watch out for credit cards with fees such as account set–up fees, program fees, participation fees, fees for additional cards and fees for credit limit increases. Paying just to have a credit card is a fee you should think twice about
paying.
Credit cards that do not report your payment status to credit bureaus. If you are working to build or re–build your credit history, a credit card that does not report to the major credit bureaus won’t be any good to you. Since the payment history for that card won’t appear on your credit report or in your credit score calculation, your positive payments would not help you build a positive credit history.
Credit cards with high interest rates will do you no favors. A credit card interest rate is the price you pay for borrowing money. For credit cards the interest rate is generally stated as annual percentage rate (or APR). Obviously the higher the APR the more it costs you to carry a balance on that card. In perspective, 25% APR could be considered an average high interest rate, while 11% could be viewed as more of an average low interest rate.
Credit cards without a grace period. The grace period is the gap between when your billing cycle closes and when the bill comes due and interest begins to accrue. Even if you pay off your credit card in full each month, you can still use the grace period to stretch the time you have to pay for purchases without incurring interest.
Credit cards with “introductory offers”. There are many attractive offers out there, such as zero percent interest to entice you to apply for a credit card or to transfer a balance from one card to another. You may not want to avoid these offers, but it would be best if you proceed with caution. Introductory means the offer is only good for a period of time. The question you need to ask is what happens to my interest rate after the introductory period ends.
Credit cards without rewards programs. If you are planning to use a credit card, why not use one that rewards you for your patronage. Redeemable shopping points, cash back, air flight miles, travel perks, etc. are all common rewards programs available on the market. Depending upon what is most important to you could sway you toward one card over another. Also good to know is how are my rewards earned and tracked, how are my rewards redeemed and do my rewards expire.
