How to Shop for the Best Low Rate Credit Card

These days, you might be receiving numerous offers for credit cards promising low interest rates, but are you being offered the lowest possible rates? How can you know?

For starters, a low rate credit card for one person might not be so for another, and the best way for consumers to guarantee that they have access to the best available low interest rate is to do all in their power to max out their credit score, according to U.S. News and World Report. Therefore, before signing up for any card advertising a low rate, consumers should first assess their own credit standing. Currently, the best possible interest rates on most major credit cards carry are around 10 percent.

The very best low rate credit card offers — those that carry interest rates of around 10 percent — are usually only available to consumers who have credit ratings of 700 or more, and these offers are typically unavailable to those whose credit scores aren’t quite so good.

The best way consumers can avoid high interest charges, of course, is by finding a credit card with a 0 percent introductory rate for the first several months the account is open, the report said. Of course, this usually only applies if they intend to transfer an existing balance to the new card, and many times, these cards won’t extend the same teaser rate to purchases made during that time. Another great way to avoid interest charges is to simply stop carrying a balance from one month to the next and make an effort to reduce your existing balances.

[Credit Cards: Research and compare low APR credit cards at Credit.com.]

Further, for those looking to cut their credit card costs but who cannot qualify for these low rate card offers, it might also be a good idea to seek out a card that helps them save in other ways, such as by avoiding annual fees. These charges can typically cost consumers as much as $50 or $100 per year, but some cards do not have such a fee in place. However, caution is important here as well, because they typically make up for that charge by applying a higher interest rate, which can be avoided by not carrying a balance.

Image: Yohann Legrand, via Flickr