Compare Credit Cards

Not all credit cards are created equal, and not every type of credit card offer will suit your personal needs and desires.

	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
Citibank Clear Platinum Card	11.99%	0% for 12 months with 3% handling fee	$99	21.74%
Bankwest Breeze MasterCard	0% for 6 months (reverts to 10.99% )	4.99% for 9 months	$49	21.99%
St.George Vertigo	13.24%	0.99% for 6 months	$55	21.49%
Westpac 55 Day Credit Card	0% for 5 months (reverts to 19.59% )	3.99% for 6 months	$0 annual fee for the first year ($30 thereafter)	21.49%
Suncorp Clear Options Standard Visa Card	12.74%		$27 for the first year ($55 thereafter)	21.99%
ANZ Frequent Flyer	19.89%		$95	20.99%
American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card	0% for 6 months (reverts to 20.74% )		$149
BoQ Platinum Visa Card	20.74%	1.9% for 6 months	$99 (half annual fee for the life of the card)	21.74%

Only you get to decide which card is the best. No one can print ‘the best credit card’ on a plastic plate and sell it to you. If it doesn’t serve you, it’s useless. And for this reason you should do the market searching on your own and strain out the best offers. Try the elimination method, dump the less attractive deals, you will be left with the best bargain in your pocket for sure.

Credit card comparison is no rocket science. Following are some comparing methods, check them out. They will serve as your benchmark against regular market advertisements.

Credit Card Comparison

A recent study has revealed that 50% Australians apply at their current bank for credit cards without even checking out market offers. Only 6% say that they did a credit rate comparison before buying a card.

Australia is ahead of many countries in providing financial products. But it is not benefiting us as much as it should. Many people are simply unaware of the diversity of financial tools available in the market. And this fact haunts people when they get the wrong card and get themselves in a debt crisis just because they didn’t shop around for a better deal.

Price searching and comparison is necessary. It gives you information on exactly what to look for. Once you get better at price analysis, you will be amazed at how much time you can save by shopping for just the right stuff.

Monthly Market Offers

There are so many people who are hooked on to their old cards. They don’t realize that markets are decorated with new cards and better offers every month. As a result they keep paying a high interest rate. Even if you’re not hunting for a card in the market, you should frequently check out the interest rates and interesting offers.

There are so many card providers in competition and they will try their level best to compete for your business. The more information on card deals you have the better it is. You get to save more money by switching to a more appropriate card.

Balance Transfer Card Comparison

As with any credit card, before signing up for a balance transfer card you need to do your due research. There are so many lenders that would be more than happy to take you as their client. And for this reason they offer so many attractions in their products that it gets difficult to pick one. But don’t be a fool, these attractions are just to press down on the market competition and lure you in to signing a contract with them.

This is why you need to read the fine prints on all offers, because you don’t want to miss out on any potential benefit by rejecting an offer or slip into a pitfall by accepting one.

When you’re comparing balance transfer cards there are few basic things you should keep in mind. First is of course the interest rate they will be charge you. You will notice one thing, the lower the interest rates, the less time you will have to take care of your debt before the reversion rates take effect.

The other thing you need to focus on is the time period in which you have to repay your debt. Usually when you get a low interest rate, the stretch in which you have to clear your debt is very small and you’re always running against the clock.

If you think you can’t make it within the six month honey moon period than don’t take the risk. Get a balance transfer that gives you more time to take care of your dues. It is important because the reverted rates are not very easy to cope with. In most of the cases, reverted rates are higher than the previous regular rates.

Also keep an alert eye on annual fees and associated charges of balance transfer cards. Sometimes, even if you pay off your debt within the 0% six month period, you don’t save any money. All your savings are eaten up by annual charges, especially when you have a relatively small balance.

Rewards Card Comparison

Here’s the deal, If you’re using the rewards card, do not keep spending money just because they are offering a ‘free’ gift. Lenders feed on interest money, they want you to spend more and more through your card. And they surely want you to miss on a payment so that the more interest can accrue on the current one. Always remember, “There is no free lunch!”

However if it’s your need to spend through your rewards card, keep a few things in mind. Check out the exact calculation of your rewards program. How many points can you earn by spending one dollar? What kind of rewards are they offering? And is there any cap to point scoring? Meaning is there a limit to the points you can earn in a year?

Zero Annual Fee Cards Comparison

While many lenders claim to have the best deal, they are just fooling you. They charge you the same fee as others but probably you don’t realize that. This is why you need to really dig deep to find the best no annual fee card.

Australia has a wide range of no annual charges cards so you need to do your due diligence in finding the right one. Now the question is, how would you filter them out? First you need to read the fine print for any cloaked fees and charges. Your card should not have any of those. If there are any, they better be justified.

Second is the basic comparison of interest rates and grace period. You need that card which offers the time period which is sufficient for you to take care of your debt. Because reverted rates are almost never pretty. So do the cross board comparison on them and select the winner.

Low Interest Card Comparison

Besides comparing the annual fees and interest rates, you need to apply a good amount of skepticism to choose the best card. Lenders are not in the market to lose money. You need to double check if that low interest rate is for the whole life of the card or is it just an introductory bonus? Also check if you can use the card overseas and watch out for awfully high annual charges.

If you want the best deal from the market you need to check the aforementioned factors frequently. Keep in touch with new offerings and interest rates. Australia has the best financial products, which means there is fierce competition in the market to get your business. You should be the one taking advantage of this competition and not the other way around.