How much time should we spend looking for the perfect credit card?
Posted February 15th, 2009 After spending a lot of time looking into the details of many, many credit cards, one thing that becomes quite clear is that finding the ‘perfect’ credit card is almost impossible. Unless you’re a multi-millionaire with an almost perfect credit rating, then you’ll need to make some compromises with the credit card you choose.
In this article, we’ll suggest a slightly different approach to choosing credit cards to suit you.
The ‘holy grail’ of credit cards will have the following features:
- Low interest rate
- Low balance transfer rate
- No annual fee
- Approval for bad credit
- High credit limits
- Low interest for cash advances
- An excellent rewards programme
- Long interest free periods
- Insurance
- Friendly and useful Customer Service
However, if you’ve spent a little time shopping around, you’ll have realised that finding this card is almost impossible. Financial institutions still need to make money on their credit cards, so, for example, a card with no annual fee, will probably have a slightly higher annual fee.
Why bother Comparing Credits Cards then?
So, at the risk of stating the obvious, what’s the point of spending hours pouring over credit card details if they all end up the same? Well it’s quite simple, you need to compromise; prioritise the things that are relevant to your situation, credit card companies target their cards at different groups of people or ‘consumer segments’ so more than likely there is a card for you. This helps you a lot, think about the way you actually use your credit card, for example if you’re only using the card occasionally, then high interest rates aren’t going to be an issue as you won’t need to make many payments. If you didn’t take this into account, you might end up paying more in annual fees than you would have done with the lower interest rate.
Next time you’re looking at applying for a credit card, instead of looking for the bright shiny things that the credit card companies use to sell to you, look at the worst things about that card. If the worst things about this card don’t worry you, then maybe this card is the card for you.
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Comparison of Top 10 Credit Card Offers
| Credit Card | Card Details | Interest Rate | Cash Advance Rate | Balance Transfer Rate | Annual fee | Interest free days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Halifax All in One Credit Card |
The Halifax All in One credit card offers a great introductory rate, and is perfect for saving you money now as well as in the future. | 15.9% APR | 27.95% p.a. (variable) | 0% for 9 months | No Annual Fee | 59 Days interest free |
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 Virgin Credit Card |
As well as a great rate, the Virgin Credit Card comes with:
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16.6% APR (variable) | 27.9% p.a. (variable) | 0% for 16 Months (2.98% fee on balance transfers) | No Annual Fee | 50 days on card purchases |
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 Capital One Classic Visa |
This card is designed for people with bad credit ratings, this is why the rate is quite high. |
Typical 34.9% APR variable | 34.9% APR | 34.9% APR | No Annual Fee | 56 days for purchases. 0 days for balance transfers and cash. |
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As well as earning Flying Club miles which you can spend on brilliant rewards like flights, upgrades, car hire and more, a Virgin Atlantic Credit Card gives you up to 46 days interest free on card purchases. |
17.9% APR typical rate | 20.9% p.a. (variable) | 0% for 6 months (2% handling fee) | No Annual Fee | Up to 46 days on card purchases only. |
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The Virgin Prepaid MasterCard from Virgin Money is a prepaid Mastercard that you can add funds to, and use these funds for normal purchases. |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
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5% cashback on purchases in your first three months (up to £4,000 of spend). Thereafter, earn 0.5% on the first £3,500, 1% on £3,501 to £10,000, and 1.5% after £10,001. |
18.9% p.a. | 27.9% p.a. | 18.9% p.a | No Annual Fee | 56 days for purchases. 0 days for balance transfers and cash. |
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Vanquis Visa Card is designed for people with no credit history or who have previously had bad debt. Representative 39.9% APR (variable) |
Representative 39.9% APR (variable) | 39.9% | N/A | No Annual Fee | Up to 56 days on card purchases only |
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The award winning prepaid card with no credit check or bank account needed. | Funds in your Account will not earn interest | Prepaid only - N/A | Prepaid only - N/A | £59.40 p.a. (£4.95/month) | Prepaid only - N/A |
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