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Credit cards are something that offers the ultimate convenience while doing financial transactions. Getting your first credit card can be very exciting. But you must understand the basics before you decide to apply for one. Otherwise you will end up making costly mistakes on your credit card and this may get you into a huge financial mess. You must be aware of the fundamental principles that govern the card in order to make the right choice before applying for the credit card.
There are different types of credit cards which are available today. The different categories are balance transfer credit cards, rewards credit cards, low APR cards, secured credit cards, student credit cards and much more. Every card caters to a different need that a person might have. You should be able to qualify for the card as they have some basic criteria on each of these cards. So, you must first find out the types and the qualifying criteria prior to sending in your application.
Each one of these credit cards has different features and some may benefit the customers, but the others will benefit the banks. There are a number of features in the credit cards that are listed in their fine print. Hence, it is important to understand these features before signing up for the cards that are being offered by credit unions and banks.
All credit cards have fees and other charges that are associated with the cards but it may vary from one card issuer to another. Late payment fees and annual fees are the most common ones and are applicable on most of the cards. But there are a few banks that waive off these annual fees especially during the first year as a promotional offer. If customers don’t pay up their dues on time, they will certainly be levied the late payment fee.
Obtaining the first credit card can prove to be quite a time consuming affair. This is due to the fact that banks look for a credit history and they are not sure about your creditworthiness or your repayment capacity if you don’t have a credit history. This may pose some amount of risk for the banks and they are wary about that. However, you can overcome this hurdle by opting for a secured credit card which can be easily obtained even if you don’t have a credit history. To obtain this card, you will have to make an upfront deposit to the bank.
