Best Value Credit Cards

June 23rd, 2010

It is impossible to discern what might be the best value credit card for someone without knowing their financial circumstances, spending habits, and their attitude towards repaying their debts.

All these factors will dictate what kind of credit card will be best in terms of saving them money. Making the wrong choice with credit cards, where these elements are not well matched to the individual, can be a very costly mistake.

Making a comparison of the type of card you think you want is the best way to find the best value credit card in any category. Credit card comparison websites are the preferable way to do this because all the facts and figures are side by side on the same page.

There are many categories of credit card, with plenty of variations in each category in terms of the additional features. Sometimes it comes down to the little added extras to really mark out one card as the best value credit card over all the others. However, there are really four main areas you will want to concentrate on to locate the card that’s best for you:

Contender categories for best value credit card

Low interest rates – These are the cards that have an ongoing low rate of interest for purchases. These cards will prove the best value credit card for anyone who makes regular purchases and quite often carries over a part of their balance from one month to the next. There are also cards that have a zero or very low rate as an introductory offer for a period of perhaps 6 months before the higher regular rate kicks in.

Balance transfers – These are a very popular choice for many people who have run up debts that they cannot pay off in a matter of a few months. These allow the customer to shift their balance to a new credit card with another provider who is offering an introductory deal on interest rates for a limited period. Most common is 0% for 6 months, although there are plenty of 12 month deals as well for 2% to 3%. Other limited periods are also available, and unlimited period transfers on some platinum level cards. When used correctly, these can certainly be thought of the best value credit card for many people.

Zero annual fees – These are a great choice for anyone who doesn’t use their card very much, or who always or nearly always pays off their balance in full each month, thus avoiding interest charges (which may be quite high on these cards). If you are paying interest charges, then these will not be the best value credit card as you are probably losing in the long run by not paying an annual fee because your interest paid will outweigh the money saved on the fee.

Rewards programs – These are the best value credit card for anyone who uses their credit card often anyway, therefore may as well earn some points for doing so. However, a program fee may wipe out the value of the points, and building up interest charges will certainly lessen their relative value.

Editors Choice: Featured Credit Card Deals

	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)