By simply maintaining a good credit rating does not ensure that you can obtain the most favorable rates that a credit card company offers. As with any company, credit card companies are in the business to make money, so even if they accept your application, they more than likely will be looking at your credit rating and how you pay them and your other bills after about six months, and periodically over the time of your use of their credit card. This re-check of your credit rating is to check for any “problems” in your payment patterns; which sometimes lead them to change your APR interest rate or add extra fees.
Although they like you to pay on time, they might be frowning a little if you work to avoid their fees or interest by being an early payer. This is why you should request, if they do not automatically send you a copy, the disclosure statements describing the payment terms, any grace periods, and penalty charges. You, like them, need to re-check their terms periodically to assure yourself that there are no alterations to your original agreement. If your credit card issuer does alter its terms and you find them objectionable by all means let the company know; if they determine that they could lose your business, they might be willing to roll back the alternation.
Some other tips you might want to follow when obtaining a credit card include:
- Always read the fine print, do not just skim over it,
- When offered a low introductory APR interest rate always find out what the standard APR interest rate will be,
- To ensure there are no surprises or conflicts, make sure you know all the rules for the “intro” rate,
- Choose the lowest fixed APR interest rates for all purchases and transfers,
- Avoid extra fees by not adding on extra options you never plan on using, as; travel accident insurance, collision coverage on rental cars, reward clubs you have to pay for, etc.
- Avoid credit cards with annual fees, they usually come with higher APR rates,
- Avoid charging more then you can pay off in a three month period.
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