Is Best Uk Credit Card Mean The Cheapest Available?
It may be very tempting to think that in order to get the best UK credit card you need to look for the cheapest UK credit card available. Tempting as it may be, it would also be wrong. In order to know whether or not you have the best UK credit card on offer, you need to make sure that the card meets most, if not all, of your needs. And to that, you need to look at what the card offers:
Fees
In order to be considered among the ?best deals? lists of UK credit cards on offer, a number of UK credit card provider advertise low annual percentage rates of interest, but counter for this by charging their cardholders fees for being members. These fees can include transaction fees and annual membership fees. If you find that your UK credit card company is charging you fees, but a lower APR than other credit card companies are, you may find that adding the amount you pay in fees to the APR you are being charged makes the amount you pay at the end of the day more than if you had selected a UK credit card provider who offered a slightly higher APR, but with no fees.
Interest free credit days
These days not all UK credit card providers offer the same number of interest free credit days in which to make payment following a purchase on your credit card. Indeed, the number of interest free credit days can be as varied as 36 ? 54 days. So, what?s better, to have a UK credit card provider that offers a lower rate of interest but for 36 days, or a UK credit card issuer that has a slightly higher rate of interest but gives you 54 days of interest free grace before charging you interest on the balance?
Loyalty programs
It is possible, with loyalty programs, to make your credit card work for you. Consider: what if you had a UK credit card company that offered you cash-back rewards with every purchase you made but at a marginally higher APR against a UK credit card company that offered you no reward program with a slightly lower APR. Which would be better for you? Well, obviously this would depending on your credit card habit, but is you were the type of UK credit card user that paid off your credit card balance at the end of each month, then most certainly the credit card issuer that offered you the cash-back reward program would be better for you!
Insurance
Under the law, UK credit card companies must offer you insurance on the product that you purchase, i.e. within a select number of days you can return the gift if it is faulty. But, does this apply to overseas purchases? Does it apply to items you break yourself? Indeed, will your UK credit card provider offer you additional insurances, like medical insurance when you travel or holiday cancellation insurance when you buy your holiday with your credit card? If not, you may need to purchase these separately and the additional cost may end up costing you more than additional cost of your slightly more expensive UK credit card.
Determining whether or not you are getting the best UK credit card deal depends very much on what you intend to use the credit card for. One thing it will most probably not depend on, however, is whether the card is the cheapest UK credit card available on the market.
Joe Kenny writes for the UK personal finance sites http://www.nationsfinance.co.uk/credit_cards/ and also http://www.cardguide.co.uk
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