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It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the variety of credit cards on offer and be tempted by the first one that comes with a pre-filled application through the door or one sold by your bank.

However, you might save yourself money and trouble by comparing credit cards and selecting the most suitable one for your needs.

1. Cards for day to day spending, balance not always paid in full.

Top Tip: search for credit cards with a interest-free introductory deal on purchases or one that offers long-term low rate.

Most cards offer an interest free period of up to 56 days the interest is charged only after the purchase appears on the monthly statement and is not paid off by the due date. Some cards do charge interest from the day of the purchase: avoid cards that charge from the day of the transaction.

If you are not likely to pay off your balance every month, look for a card that offers a long interest-free period on purchases. The best deals now on are around 9 months interest free.

Alternatively, if your credit rating is high enough, you might be able to get a card with an APR low enough to forego the initial interest free period and plump for a long-term low-interest card; the best now are below 10%.

2. Cards for day to day spending, balance always paid in full.
Top Tip: search for credit cards with shopping rewards, affiliate scheme or cash-back.

If you are one of the 60% of customers who always pay your balance in full, you don't need to worry about the APR. Instead, look for a card with additional benefits.

The range of benefits available is quite impressive, but the rewards vary. You can get as much as 1.5% cashback (AmEx Platinum even offers introductory deal of 5% cashback for the first three months) on purchases, or around 0.5-1% cashback on most purchases with extra rewards for spend at particular retailers: Nectar points, Air-miles, Amazon vouchers, discounts of up to 10% at selected retailers.

Compare credit cards that offer rewards and cash-back and you are bound to find something that suits your spending patterns. You can also choose a charity card: instead of rewarding you, it will donate money to the charity (or even a football club).

Most websites that offer credit card comparison and search are somehow sketchy on the rewards. You do need to look in the details to find out what exactly is on offer.

All of this make financial sense only if you pay your balance in full: otherwise look to tip 1 and search for cards with a low APR.

3. Cards for balance transfers.
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