UK Credit Cards Offers

Understanding how credit cards work is the first step in using your credit properly. Why are there so many credit card offers available? Obviously because they are very lucrative to the issuer! However used wisely then can be equally beneficial to the consumer. Credit cards are fairly easy to get, but you have to be disciplined and responsible to use them wisely. Credit cards are a good way to establish credit and create a track record to show creditors you now how to manage your finances. However use credit cards irresponsibly and bad things will start to happen. For instance because of sheer greed their are numerous credit card offers available from different issuers, used properly this can be in the consumers favour. Some credit cards offer around a months grace before you must make a payment, so if you pay off your balance in full, in effect you have been given a 30 day interest free loan! Credit card companies do not want you to pay off your balance in full because the credit card companies will start to charge you interest if you pay back only part of the balance. Credit card companies interest or APR can be in excess of 20%, however most companies set a rate between 12-18%. This rate can be more then 15% above inflation and 10% above the actual government set interest rate, also called the bank rate, prime rate or discount rate. (The discount rate is the rate that an eligible depository institution such as a bank is charged to borrow short term funds directly from the central bank through the discount window) This spread is very profitable for credit card companies, it is not in your interest to pay just the minimum payment and roll your monthly balance. In part this is why there are so many different credit card offers available - they all want your business. If you pay your balance in full each month and apply for a card that gives you a 1% cash back, then instead of paying interest to the credit card company, you will end up earning a full 1% cash back on every credit card purchase. Some credit card companies offer 0% Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, but you must read the fine print because most will expect you to pay off the balance in full before that period or you will incur interest payment retroactively back to the full 12 months. The trick is managing your credit properly and paying off the balances before this period. There are credit companies that offer as low as 0% interest on balance transfers for 12 months. It is possible because of these credit card companies greed to play one off against another and pay almost no interest (using 0% balance transfers) and still accumulate rewards of cash back. However it must be said allot of people are unable to manage their credit correctly and in effect get into serious debt problems. Credit cards are a blessing only if you can maintain the proper control of your finances. Credit cards can be a great way to establish credit. Through good financial housekeeping you can obtain preferred rates of interest and establish future credit for purchasing cars and property. This site is not about offering credit cards, but about giving you the consumer enough understanding of credit cards to make them work for you and not always for the issuers. Read our "did you know on each page" for more tips.

Did You Know: Credit Card Grace periods

Some credit card issuers are giving too small a grace period, or none at all. Historically, credit cards offered a grace period of about 30 days. If you paid your balance in full during that time, you were charged no interest on your purchases. But credit card companies don't make money on good customers. As such, the length of many grace periods is starting to wane. Some credit cards don't offer a grace period anymore. The average grace period on a credit card from one of the major issuers is about 22 days. But some credit cards have shortened the period to 20 days, and others have none at all. With no grace period, you're charged interest on the purchase from the day you make it, probably before the credit card company has even paid the store on your behalf. Unfortunately credit card companies have shaved off the official time from 30 to 25 days or less. Look at your statement to see how much time you have, often you will need to pay the bill within one week. Thank You, Please Carefully Review All Credit Card Offers

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