Reasons Why You May Avoid Credit Card Introductory Offers

Do you get excited when you see introductory offers? Make sure you read all the terms and conditions before committing to a contract

This is especially important, when they are promoting great credit card deals and benefits that would not come your way normally. But it’s a good idea to exercise a bit of restraint and proceed to examine the offer a bit more carefully to determine exactly what it is you are being offered and what it may cost you in the long run. Unfortunately it’s sad but true that these offers on credit cards are not always as good as they may appear at first glance.

The offer checklist

Listed below are some of the most common offers on credit cards that have a downside in addition to the benefit being promoted:

Short term: Introductory offers are usually only available for very short periods, and the reason being that the bank or credit card provider can’t afford to sustain them over a long period without a high cost to themselves. One of the most common of these is the balance transfer offers.

These introductory offers allow you a transfer a debt balance from other credit cards or store cards to a new account at a zero or low interest rate for a fixed period of time. The intention being that you make savings by paying off your debt within that period, which is good if you can. But if the offer is only for three or six months, the chances are you might not be able to clear your debt in that period, and then your debt reverts to a standard interest rate, so you are virtually back where you started from. If you can’t pay your debt within the short time offered you may be better looking round for a credit card like the Citibank Gold which has a 12 month balance transfer deal.

Big picture: Introductory offers and promotions are all very well, but before taking out a new credit card you need to look at the big picture and see what’s available when the introductory offer period is over. If the rewards and features aren’t very attractive and less than you are currently getting there isn’t much point in moving or getting a new card just for the opening offer.

Terms and conditions: Many rewards cards and frequent flyer cards offer bonus points as an introductory offer for signing up with them and using your card for the first time. But check if there are any conditions attached to those points for example, can you use the points anywhere or are you restricted to a specific airline or company? Do you have to book a flight with a partner airline to even get the points? If that is the case it might be costing you more to acquire the points than you actually wanted to spend.

Focus on the fact that you are taking out a credit card for long term benefits not just for the short term enticement that is being offered.

Check out today's featured offers:

Westpac Low Rate	Citibank Clear Platinum	Qantas AMEX Discovery	ANZ Platinum
0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers	2.9% p.a. for 12 months on balance transfers	$0 annual fee Up to 10,000 Bonus QFF Points	0% p.a. for 6 months on purchases & balance transfers

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Popular Credit Card Offers

			Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
	Westpac Low Rate Card - 0% Offer	A credit card with a low rate offer on both balance transfers and purchases, plus a low annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 13.49% )	0% for 6 months	$45	21.49%
	Citibank Clear Platinum Card	Competitive interest rate on purchases and balance transfers offer.	11.99%	2.9% for 12 months	$99	21.74%
	St George Vertigo	Take advantage of this great offer from St.George with a low rate on purchases and a low balance transfer offer.	13.24%	0.99% for 12 months	$55	21.49%
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	An introductory interest rate offer on balance transfers and purchases, plus a $0 first year annual fee.	0% for 6 months (reverts to 19.24% )	0% for 6 months	$0 annual fee for the first year( $87 thereafter)	20.99%