help choosing a credit card provider

[lolla]

i was all set to join up with the NAB until i saw this report on today tonight about credit cards and interest rates. there's a 10% difference between the highest and lowest rates which seems crazy to me, how can so many providers charge that much (almost 20%)??

who would you recommend?

[AJC]

If you are going to have a balance on it and therefore pay interest then I guess you would be best to go with the one with the lowest fees (lowest interest & ongoing/annual fees). But if you plan to pay it out when it's due then I love the Virgin credit card. No annual fee, no fuss & it was easy to get. Plus you can get all sorts of pretty colours.

[feeb]

I am with national as it was easy as was with them to start with since a kid. Other reason I like them is that I get Fly buys for using visa, so if i use my visa in coles i get double points as i get points for shipping in coles and points for using visa!!

[Kailani]

If you plan on paying the whole balance off each month then the interest doesn't even come into it. So one with low annual fee and awards (like mine!) or one with no annual fee at all I would recommend. If you don't think you'll pay off the balance in full each month then get a low rate one - most likely won't have awards though. I think all banks have cards with those criterias, I know CBA does.

HTH!

[lolla]

great, thanks for your advice everyone. you've given me something to think about!

[Aimz]

Why don't you try a debit card?

You don't have to have an overdraft - you can simply spend your own money but be able to spend it like you would a credit card (internet etc). I have a VISA debit card (through my Credit Union) and I only have a $500 overdraft which I haven't even used yet. I just spend my own money but I can still buy things online and pay for things over the phone.

I think it's a much safer option!!

[lolla]

i'm thinking of travelling in the near future, which is why i am looking at getting a credit card over a debit card.

[Aimz]

You can still travel with a debit card - they are usually run by VISA or Mastercard. I travelled to Greece with mine and it worked perfectly.

[Ellee05]

We have recently moved to a ANZ Frequent Flyer Visa. As we are living where we need to fly to get places and it is only Qantas. We put everything we possibly can on it and pay it off every month. It suits us great as we'll get free flights

As the other girls have said, if you don't think you'll be able to pay it off every month then go for a low interest credit card. you can do a search online to compare all different banks. That's what I did.

[lolla]

thanks girls!

[lolla]

here's that today tonight clip i was talking about, for anyone who is interested.

[missymiss]

I was just going to start a similar thread! I'm looking at changing credit cards because mine seems to have one of the higher rates. Merrick and Rosso have been doing this "rip off" comp this week to promote a low rate card by Aussie. It sounds petty good. Is anyone with them?