If you are a newbie in the credit card network, you may find hundreds of options. Many financial institutions offer various credit cards with attractive rewards, no interest periods, and many more. That makes it hard to settle on the right one for your wallet.
Choosing the right credit card means that it suits well or goes with your needs, and that may differ from your friends. Let’s make it easy by revealing some steps to pick the right one for you.
Here Is How To Choose A Credit Card In Four Steps:
Check out these four steps to know which will be right for you and your wallet.
1. Pick The Type Of Credit Card You Want
There are different types of credit cards, and each offers various features. Some are good for shopping, some are good for traveling, some good at providing rewards, points, and bonuses, and a few have less annual charges than others.
Which one you would like to pick should be your call per your requirements.
● Improve Your Credit Score
Credit score plays a great role in getting quality credit cards with amazing features. So, you must have a good credit score. But what if you need a credit history or score?
Then you can go for a solution that provides credit cards for bad credit. You can choose an option like a secured credit card or open it by depositing some amount to the credit card company. It will help you to improve your credit score. If you are a student, you can use student credit cards to enlist your name in the credit card network.
● Earn Rewards On Purchases
If you ask, “What’s the best credit card for me?” Go with the Rewards credit cards. This is the blind solution for every cardholder. It allows you to earn bonuses or rewards on every expense or spending.
Do you want to earn cash rewards? Then go for the cashback credit cards. You will get points you can redeem during travel, airline tickets, hotels, etc.
● Pay Off Purchases Over Time Without Interest
What if you need some extra time to pay back your credit? You may need to pay some extra bucks as interest. But if I say that some credit cards offer 0% intro APR, will you believe it? Yes, some 0% intro APR credit cards offer a 0% annual percentage rate on your purchases.
Look at the introductory APR period length to know which cards offer this facility. According to your card’s terms and conditions, it can last for a year or longer. When it ends, the APR will increase. So, make sure to pay off your full amount by that time.
2. Figure Out The Most Important Features
The next most important thing is to look for the credit card features. Though it will depend on the type of card you are getting. So let’s check out how to choose a credit card with the features you need.
● Credit Cards For Improving Credit
Do you want to use a credit card for a secured, bad credit, or a student card to improve your score? Here are the tips you need to follow.
❖ No Annual Fee: When you are working on improving your credit, it’s a misuse to borrow some extra cost on your credit card as an annual fee.
❖ Payments Reported To All Three Credit Bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are the main three consumer credit bureaus. These three produce credit reports and calculate your credit score. So, you need a good credit card company that reports your purchases and payments to improve your credit score.
❖ Free Credit Score Monitoring: Do you know that several credit card companies have free credit score tools? And they update those monthly. So you can easily track the record of whether your score is increasing.
● Rewards Credit Cards
Do you want a credit card that earns travel rewards and cashback? Here are the tips.
★ Rewards Rate: Credit cards earn rewards when cardholders purchase something. Some credit cards earn a flat rate, like 1.5%, on everything. Some earn bonuses on specific categories, like 3% on gas and 1% on everything else.
★ Sign-Up Bonus or Welcome Offer: This bonus is available to new cardholders; this bonus is offered for touching the slab of spending a minimum. For example, if a cardholder offers a $250 bonus, s/he spends $1000 within the first three months. Remember, not all rewards cards have this signup bonus offer.
★ Annual Fee: As you know, every card has a yearly fee. That charge can be $0 to over $500. That’s why read the terms and conditions before picking up a credit card.
● Balance Transfer Credit Card
Before you choose any cards, make sure to check out the length of the balance transfer offer. It should be the main feature to get a card with 0% intro APR. If that is not applicable or possible, you must choose the card with the longest 0% balance transfer APR.
3. Compare Your Credit Card Options
Every credit card has its features and benefits, so how to choose the right one for you? Do compare your credit cards using comparison tools. Here you will come to know about.
➔ Visit Ascent’s Compare Cards page.
➔ Hit the ‘Full Card List’ option.
➔ Choose the rating of your credit card and write down what type of card you are looking for.
➔ Now click “Add to compare” under the credit card you want to compare.
➔ Once done, select cards and click “Compare.”
You will get a full breakdown of those cards. And you can quickly go through which cards have the cheapest annual fees, which have the most rewards facility, and which other attractive features to tally, and it can help you to pick the right card for you.
4. Apply For The Credit Card You Want
Now, with a clear mindset, you can choose the right card for you. But do you know how to apply for a credit card?
Check this out –
● Visit the credit card page and click the “Apply Now” option.
● Put all the necessary information like your personal information, mailing address, financial information, etc.
● Recheck and submit the application and wait for the response.
Hopefully, you will get an instant response and get the card within 7 to 10 business days.
