by Katerina Nikolas

Created on: February 20, 2010

If you are considering taking out a new credit card you probably know what kind of features you are looking for in a card. It could well be the case that you’ve researched and found three cards which appear to offer identical features which suit your requirements. Even so it’s worth taking the extra time to read a few reviews, as there are probably other things you may have not taken into consideration.

Ideally everyone should be looking for low interest rates and fee free cards, but beyond that it is handy to know how helpful the customer service is if you need to use it; if the service provided is efficient; ease of paying the balance each month; and other pointers you hadn’t really considered. It could well be that a few bad reviews will steer you away from one of your initial choices, whilst good reviews could be helpful in the long term.

Credit cards do feature their terms and conditions in the documentation, so those who sign up for astronomical interest rates and huge annual charges only have themselves to blame when the bills arrive. Some of the charges which the less careful end up with are processing fees, annual fees, fees for additional cards, fees for increasing the credit limit, and of course late payment charges.

Sometimes though there are extra charges hidden away in the small print, or something which could be inconvenient. It could even be that just reading the endless pages puts you to sleep whilst a reviewer will bring things to light, even though you should always read through all the small print before signing. A review which highlights something you really don’t want to be a feature of your credit card will allow you to discard all the blumpf before reading it.

As a conscientious credit card user who intends to never pay any interest at all, no fees or only the lowest fees, a review can offer insight. A review which states a card has no fees, low interest rates, helpful customer service, good rewards, and a significant grace period of around 45 plus days, will influence you to investigate the card further, as all the features appear to be ideal. 

It may not turn out to be such a good card if their method of accepting payment each month isn’t a convenient one; if customer services are constantly hassling you to buy other products; if they can’t make an instant decision if you need to up your credit limit quickly; or if they have a reputation of inefficiency in dealing with any issues you may need resolving.

For those who use their credit card when travelling it is good to read in advance about the ease of using the card when abroad, what kind of overseas charges are applicable, and how good their insurance coverage actually is. For others a review of the rewards program may be helpful, or the type of online services provided as opposed to hanging on the telephone forever to a call centre.

By researching between cards first, then taking the time to read reviews, you should be able to narrow the card down which is ideal for your purposes. That way you should be quietly confident that your new credit card is not going to give you any nasty surprises.

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