What We Consider The Best Credit Cards

February 5th, 2010

Understand what to look for when assessing the best credit card. Realise that this is based on individual circumstances that you must have worked out beforehand.

In the 2009 Australian Consumer Credit Card & Banking Survey, finding the best credit card deal was cited as being the most important factor when choosing a credit card. You might expect that such an answer would be the case, but this was then completely undermined by the fact that only 6% of those same people reported that they had visited a credit card comparison site, and nearly 60% of people only applied to their own bank.

Given these figures, most people would seem to be relying on pot luck to happen across the best credit card. The most important part of finding the best credit card is comparing what the market has to offer. But for that to work, you must also have spent a little time deciding on what constitutes the best credit card for you.

If you want to make a balance transfer above all else, you should not be searching for a no annual fee credit card. Although there are balance transfer cards that do not charge an annual fee, they may not be offering the best percentage rate over the longest period of time. There will always be a trade-off when choosing the best credit card. One great feature is often balanced by a less generous feature elsewhere. Where there’s a range of attractive features, it is unlikely that any one of them will be the best one individually.

Best credit card contenders:

If you are looking to make a balance transfer, then the ANZ Low Rate MasterCard is offering 0% p.a. for 3 months on balance transfers, and 0% p.a. for 3 months (reverts to 13.24% p.a.) on purchases. 0% deals are for no longer than six months, but you can find a slightly higher rate over a longer period, or you can find 0.9% p.a. for 9 months of the debt you transfer with the Citibank Emirates card. With balance transfers, make sure you are being realistic in assessing how long it will take to repay your debt.

If you tend to spend a lot on your credit card, then a good rewards program may be how you decide which is the best credit card for you. This means that you can benefit from your spending by accumulating points to redeem for merchandise or cashback or flights etc. What you should not do is make a rewards program your deciding factor if you are intending to spend purely to earn points. If this behaviour builds up a debt you cannot clear from month to month, then the interest charges will more than negate the value of your earned points.

The credit card market can seem a bit daunting with the offers that come and go, rates that change, and industry jargon. To find the best credit card, take some advice. Make a credit card comparison the easy way by visiting a site where all the legwork has been done for you, and if you don’t understand how something works, read up on it.