The content is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change.

In order to be able to effectively manage your credit card accounts, then you must know the terms associated with credit and credit cards. Read on the basic terms a consumer will be dealing with for as long as he or she owns a credit card.

* "Annual Percentage Rate" (APR), or the Interest Rate, is what the credit card owner needs to pay annually. Most credit card companies promise a 0% APR as a form of promotion. This payment is made in addition to other payments made with the credit card.

* The interest to be charged to the consumer is computed using the "Average Daily Balance". To be able to identify this interest, the Average Daily Balance would first have to be identified, and this is done by dividing the balance in the credit by the number of days in that specific month.

* A "Balance Transfer", on the other hand, is the activity of transferring the balance from one credit card to another.

* "Bankruptcy" is filed by a consumer who is unable to pay the balances in his or her credit card.

* A "Credit Report" is the report of the consumer's purchasing activities with his or her credit cards. Each consumer has three credit reports, each from the three credit bureaus. It also contains personal information, identification, payment history, and a lot more.

* "Cash Advance Fee" is the fee the card holder must pay per cash advance. Normally, this fee is greater compared to the rate of interest on purchases. Paying for cash advance fee is common among consumers, because most credit card companies do not allow withdrawals from Automated Teller Machines using their credit cards.

* "Credit History" shows the consumer's purchasing activities, as well as the remaining balance. Lenders, employers, or any official looking for information and identification about a person commonly looks at that person's credit history. A credit history can be either good, or bad, and this commonly affects the ease or difficulty with which one can obtain a loan, mortgage, employment, etc.

* "Minimum Payment" is what the consumer has to send to the credit card company, if the consumer's card record shows a balance. This is usually a very minimal amount, usually amounting to twenty dollars or less.

* A "Rebate / Reward Card" is a type of card that features perks and privileges that the card holder may avail after reaching the minimum of a required purchase amount.

Disclaimer: This editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer(s). Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer(s), and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer(s). Reasonable efforts are made to present accurate information, however all information is presented without warranty. Consult a card's issuing bank for the terms & conditions.
All rates and fees, and other terms and conditions of the products mentioned in this article/post are actual as of the last update date but are subject to change. See the current products' Terms & Conditions on the issuing banks' websites.