The Most Important Details of a New Credit Card
If you’re thinking about applying for a new credit card, there are a number of things that you’re going to want to pay attention to. However, there are also some things that can help guide you through the process a little more easily. If you have a checklist of things to look for, you can more easily determine the right credit card for your needs. Here are four of the things to look at when you’re looking into a new credit card.
- General Cash Back Rewards Rate
One of the first things you might want to look at is the cash back rewards that you’ll get with your new credit card. Cash back rewards are how you’re going to get most of the benefits available with a credit card. It’s common for credit cards to offer 1% cash back rewards on every purchase, then an extra percentage on some purchase categories; look to see what extra cash back rewards are available, as well as what your overall cash back rate is.
- Annual Fee
While you might immediately look to an annual fee, it’s also important to remember that an annual fee isn’t inherently a bad thing. A $0 annual fee card can be the right card for some people, but it’s not necessarily better or worse than a card with an annual fee. That’s because a card with an annual fee may be able to provide you better benefits than a card without an annual fee, so if you can afford it, it’s often a better choice.
- Sign-Up Bonus
Sign-up bonuses are very common nowadays, as they’re an effective way for a company to convince new people to consider a specific credit card. Some sign-up bonuses are also surprisingly easy to achieve and pretty sturdy, like the Capital One Quicksilver sign up bonus, which gives you $200 after spending $500 in the first three months. Make sure the bonus is useful and that you can easily meet the spending requirement.
4. Other Benefits
Credit cards often offer a significant list of benefits that you can take advantage of as a cardholder. You may be able to get extra warranty coverage, purchase protection, trip protection, and a variety of other benefits for purchases that you make with that credit card. Make sure you read through all of the benefits before you sign up and try to use as many of them as possible.
Conclusion
There are a number of things to look into when you’re looking for a new credit card. You may even be looking for some extremely specific benefits in your new credit card, like trip protection or extra cash back on certain purchases. However, these four things are typically the most important things to make sure align with your specific needs. If you make sure you check out these four things early on, you’ll be the most likely to get the credit card that works for your personal needs.