All You Need To Know About Low Interest Credit Cards
March 16th, 2011
Low interest credit cards are available from virtually every financial institution in Australia.
Consumers like them because they allow them to use their credit cards for actual credit and not just convenience whilst not breaking the bank when it comes to the interest they are charged on their transactions. Unlike their high interest counterparts, this option is much less likely to land the cardholder deep in debt. With typical rates falling below fourteen percent on purchases, it is easy to see how consumers will save money with this option.
Of course, even if you are using a low interest card, you will still have to steer clear of those cash advances that so many financial experts warn against. With few exceptions the rates, even on these less costly cards, is still around twenty percent with no charge free days. Consumers should make a promise to themselves to avoid the cash advance at all costs so that they will be able to reduce their debt risk even more.
Low Interest Cards And You
A low interest card is not the best choice for every consumer. Ideally, the cardholder would be someone who does not use their plastic for every purchase that they make. If you are someone who uses your plastic for every purchase, you might be better off using a card that offers you back some rewards for that spending. That being said, if you will carry your debt over from month to month, even a great rewards program is not going to have more value than the cost of interest fees. Unless you will always pay off, you will spend more on those charges than you could possibly earn in rewards points even if cashback is one of the rewards.
For those people, the credit card that will be better for them is a low interest one. Some of them even have special offers that carry a zero rate for balance transfers. The balance transfer will allow you to move the debt from more expensive cards over to this one so that your cost to pay it off is much less. Many banks also offer some perks like free additional cards, online statements, and emergency card replacement. While you will not be able to get a lot of big perks from these low interest credit cards, the big benefit is the money that you save on interest fees.
Related posts:
- How You Can Save Using No Annual Fee Credit Cards With Introductory Interest Rates
- Cash Back Cards With No Annual Fees
- EFTPOS Or Debit/Credit Cards – Which Should You Use?
| Interest Rate (p.a.) | Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.) | Annual fee | Cash Advance Rate (p.a.) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 HSBC Credit Card | 17.99% | 0% for 8 months with 2% handling fee | $0 | 21.99% |
|
 Virgin No Annual Fee Credit Card | 18.99% | 2.9% for 6 months | $0 | 20.99% |
|
 Bankwest Zero MasterCard | 0% for 6 months (reverts to 17.99% ) | 4.99% for 9 months | $0 | 18.99% |
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