Help! Financial Dummy: CO MasterCard/VISA Card

[jonestavern]

Opinions please!

So many places around here do not take AMex

We already have an AMex, which we've had for yrs & really like

But now I will be needing a MasterCard or VISA.

We have great credit & pay our AMex off every month (yes, I know that looks bad), so I don't need to transfer any debt.

What is a good one to get, low interest (over the long haul).
Not interested in 'teaser' rates or airline miles or Disney Dollars

Want to know how the APR & how it is calculated.

What else do I need to be aware of?

Help! I need to research this, also but I am a financial dummy!

Thank you much,
Jean

 

[mrsklamc]

I'm just curious, if you plan to pay it off every month why is the APR the major factor?

I recommend checking bankrate.com

 

[bettymae1121]

Ditto. If you plan on paying it off each month, the APR doesn't matter. The card I use has a rate of I think 18%, but since I pay it off all the time I don't pay a dime of interest. What you really want is a card with no annual fee, or rewards that are so good that it's worth the fee they charge. Mine charges $65 a year but since I earn enough miles for a free ticket annually, I'm still way ahead.

 

[Leeanne]

I have a Discover card that I love!! I know thats not one that you posted but I still wanted to let you know. It has no annual fee, and there are different types. I get 1% on all purchases, and every quarter I get 5% on a selection of purchases. Right now it is Travel, rental cars, hotels, ect. I think next quarter its gas, grocery, ect. 1% and 5% doesn't sound like much but it adds up quick! Think about it, if you spend $100 per wk at the grocery, 5% is $5, by the end of the month that around $20 bucks. I know its not Mastercard or Visa, but still might be worth looking into.

 

[dd50]

I use the HSBC weekend card. Don't remember what the rate is as I pay in full but you get 2% cash back on weekends and 1% off during the week on every thing.

If you are looking for a card to carry a balance stay away from Chase or BoA.

 

[jonestavern]

I've heard that if you pay yr bills off, consistently, yr credit score gets lowered as you bring in no money for the cc companies.
I plan, once or twice per year, to carry over a small balance to ONE other month

thanks all!

Soon2BX & I dislike Chase, too. We had one of our mortgages with them (as did several of our neighbors) in the late 90's & found them--at the time--less than stellar

Any other opinions?

 

[mrsklamc]

I doubt that is true because we always pay ours off and DH and I are both in the high 700s. Not worth paying interest, to me personally.

 

[auralia]

usually your best bet for a low interest rate is to go through your local bank my card has a 7.4 interest rate through my local bank, the offers i get in the mail start in the 10-16% range.