home loan finance blog
Everyday you probably receive at least two or three credit card offers in the mail. Oddly they all seem to advertise the same thing, low interest credit cards. With the variety of low interest cards being offered to consumers, there is no reason to accept anything less. First it is important to understand just what qualifies a credit card to be considered low-interest. Then you need to know how to apply for and be approved for a low interest credit card. Finally you should know how to keep that interest rate low as long as you keep the card.
What Is A Low Interest Credit Card
The definition of low interest changes from time to time. A couple of years ago, anything under 9 percent was considered low while now it is closer to 12 percent and under. A true low interest card remains low. Do not be fooled by introductory rates which go up after a certain number of months. Also do not be tricked into opening a low interest account that carries an annual fee with it, there are too many out there that don’t. When shopping for a low interest card, there is no need to settle for anything less than everything you want.
Apply For A Low Interest Card In order to qualify for low interest credit cards you will need a pretty good, if not excellent, credit score. If your score is below 680 you probably will not be approved and shouldn’t risk damaging your score more by applying. Take measures to raise your credit score before applying for the credit card in order to improve your chances for acceptance.
Approved For A Low Interest Card Great! You’ve been approved and sent a card in the mail. Activate your account but don’t rush out and buy anything. In fact it is better to not charge anything that you cannot pay off within the month. This way your credit score will go up and you’ll always have a low interest credit card in case of a major emergency.
Keeping Your Low Interest Low Credit card companies watch closely that your payments come in on time. If you take the earlier advice, you won’t have to worry because you won’t have any charges to pay off. However if you are like everyone else, you probably have a balance that you carry over from month to month. Pay on time, at least the minimum, or you will run the very real possibility of your interest rate going up.