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Once upon a time, there used to be a credit card. And to own that credit card, you were required to pay an annual fee. You had to pay transaction fee to use it and finance charges when borrowing from it. But now, no more! For the times we are living in is credit cards galore. Credit card companies are falling over each other to get the mighty customer. He is being tempted with no annual fee credit cards; no interest credit cards and cash back credit cards.

At first glance, of course, it is very easy to be tempted by all these offers and needless to say, quite confusing at times. One doesn’t know whether to choose between a reward card, or a 0% interest rate card or a no annual fee credit card. The best method of knowing what kind of card you should go for would be to analyse your spending and payment habits and then judge for yourself whether a no annual fee credit card or a no interest card is best for you.

You have to realise that credit card companies are here to make money which they generally do through charging annual fee and finance charges. So if they are offering you a no annual fee credit card, they are going to earn somewhere else. And this is where the interest rate comes in, for in most cases, the interest rate on credit cards with no annual fees is considerably more than that on credit cards that have a nominal annual fee.

Even in the case of no annual fee credit cards with very low introductory rates , one has to be careful , for the high rate of interest may catch you unawares in case are lax. So if you are one of those people who carry some balance on their credit cards, a no annual fee credit card may prove to be costly in the long run. A low interest credit card is much better than a no annual fee credit card for you. On the other hand, a credit card with no annual fees is perfect for people who pay off their balances on time.

Another important point to keep in mind is that a no annual fee credit card does not mean that there are going to be “no fees” on your card. For even though you are spared from paying a nominal annual fee ranging from $50-$100, you still have to make many other payments on your no annual fee credit card. You are required to pay service or finance charges on the amount of balance that you carry on your card. The finance charges on a no annual fee credit card are higher when compared to other cards. If your credit card with no annual fee also offers you rewards or cash back options, then this rate will shoot up further. You are also not spared from paying late fee or a fee for over exceeding your credit limit in the case of a no annual fee credit card. As long as you read the fine print on your application, and abide by it too, a credit card with no annual fees is a good option for you.

With the average American household credit card debt rising to almost $10,000, credit card debt consolidation is big business today. The popularity of credit card debt consolidation is evident by the numerous methods as well as the large number of firms providing credit card debt consolidation services. However, all credit card debt consolidation methods work differently, and depending upon your own financial situation and the amount of your debt, you should choose the credit card debt consolidation method that works optimally for you.

There are numerous credit card debt consolidation options available for the average debtor. If you are not already neck-deep into debt, then the best method for paying it off is to consolidate using credit cards. Credit card companies offer many different options for people who use this method of credit card debt consolidation. Many companies offer a 0% APR balance transfer card in case you want to consolidate your debt with credit cards. In this case the outstanding balance from the card with a high interest rate will be transferred to the new card with an introductory 0% interest rate.

The advantage of using this kind of credit card debt consolidation method is that you end up saving the sky high interest that you were paying on your earlier credit card. This way, whatever you spend on paying off your credit card balance goes directly towards reducing your principal instead of being wasted on interest payments. However, this method of credit card debt consolidation works only for people who are regular and disciplined about paying off their credit card balance on time.

One thing that you need to keep in mind is that, no matter what, you are consolidating with a credit card! So, in case you delay your monthly payments, you will have to pay back your balance with a much higher rate of interest than what you were probably paying on your earlier credit card. While generally credit card debt consolidation schemes start with a 0% APR, the rate of interest shoots up steeply once the introductory period is over and you may end up paying more than you would have originally. If you want to become debt free this way, then remember that strict discipline and thoughtful planning are the cornerstones of credit card debt consolidation through balance transfers.

In case you feel you are not disciplined enough to always pay off the balance on your new card on time, then consolidation through credit card may not be the best option for you. In such cases, you should try exploring credit card consolidate credit debt loans. You can write off your entire credit card debt using the payment from a credit card debt consolidation loan. And the best part is that these loans are available at a much lower interest rate than what your average credit card company charges.

Credit cards today have become a double-edged sword, on the on hand allowing you the convenience to for example shop online and on the other hand providing you with the opportunity to run up so much debt that you are struggling simply to meet your interest payments each month. Like everything else however a low interest credit card is merely a tool and the secret lies in how you use that tool.

Most people today have a credit card and indeed many people have several credit cards and have also accumulated more debt on their cards than they would like to admit. Knowing this the fiercely competitive credit card companies now offer a range of low interest credit cards to tempt us further and many people are enticed by the multi-million dollar advertising which accompanies these card offers. But should you be tempted?

The first thing you will find is that low interest credit cards are not being made available to everyone and generally speaking will only be issued to people with a reasonable good credit history and credit score. Whether or not you will qualify depends on your own personal circumstances and the particular lender whose card you are considering and the only real way to know is to actually apply for a card and see what happens. However, even if you are accepted there are a number of things you need to watch out for.

Although your new card may offer you a lower rate of interest on any balance transferred to the card it is very rare for a lender to actually offer to reduce the principle sum which is transferred and so your new card will still leave you with the same amount of debt that you had on the day you acquired it.

So, now you have your original debt but, instead of paying it off at 12% you are paying it off at only 9%. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, if you are struggling to meet your payments today it can certainly be helpful in the short term but in the longer term it could well cost you a lot more. The problem here is simply that when you swap your card for a lower interest card you also tend to extend your repayment horizon and a debt which you were originally on target to pay off at 12% over two years now becomes a debt that you will pay off at 9% over three years. When you compound up your interest payments on a monthly basis you will invariably find that by the time you have finished you will actually end up paying back more rather than less money to the lender.

If you are struggling to meet your monthly payments on your credit cards then it can certainly be a good idea to transfer your balance onto a card with a lower interest rate. However, the secret is to remember that your monthly repayments represent both interest on your borrowings and repayment of the principle borrowed. Reducing your monthly payments is fine but, if you are going to do this, then you also need to make sure that part of the money you are saving each month is not simply spent but used to pay down the principle on your card so that you are not simply extending the life of your debt.

Credit card debt is a complex subject and one which runs a lot of people into trouble these days. Remember that a low interest credit card is not in itself the answer to the problem of settling credit card debt but is just one of the many tools available to you.