How To Compare Different Types of Credit Cards

Featured Balance Transfer Card

There is only one credit card in Australia that rewards its users for repaying balances. The ANZ Balance Visa Card gives you reward points each time you repay your balances.

• $79 annual fee
• 14.24% p.a. on purchases
• 0% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 21.49%
• Earn 1 reward point for every $1 you repay on your balance

Click here to read the ANZ Balance Visa terms and conditions

Discover how to compare different types of credit card. Know which features on balance transfer cards and rewards cards make the biggest difference.

Your credit card needs may change from year to year, therefore it can be useful to know how to compare different types of credit cards. The real key to this is your ability to assess you own needs with accuracy. Knowing what to look for in a certain type of credit card is defeated if you are looking at the wrong type of card for your personal circumstances. A large part of your success will come down to common sense.

Balance transfer cards

Balance transfer cards are probably the most fiercely competitive of all credit cards because credit card debt is such an issue, especially since the economy has tanked. These are the cards that most people will want to know about when asking how to compare different types of credit card because there is such diversity amongst them, and because they can make such a positive difference to your financial situation.how to

If you need to transfer a balance, then you will be looking for the longest period at the lowest rate. The longer the period, generally speaking the higher the rate, but a few extra percent is preferable if you then get sufficient time to pay your debt off in full. Remember that a whole year at 2% is better than six months at 0% followed by another six months at 15%. The annual fee is not really an issue here unless it is massively more than it should be when you compare it to other similar cards. Some balance transfer cards do not even charge an annual fee, although you may not be getting the very best balance transfer deal on one of these.

Rewards cards

This is the other main category a person may be referring to when asking how to compare different types of credit cards. This has become such a popular feature on credit cards in recent years that some consumers may not even consider a credit card without an accompanying rewards program.

The issues to watch out for are the variety of rewards on offer, and how much spending you need to do to be able to redeem your points for something worthwhile. The vast majority of rewards programs are very versatile, even though they may not look it. Qantas frequent flyer cards, for example, offer far more than Qantas flights. There are also 25 partner airlines to choose from, and a huge selection of travel and non-travel related goods.

Once you have established which program’s rewards best suit your tastes, then you need to verify how much your spent dollars are actually worth. Remember that dollars create rewards points that are then translated back into a dollar value when you come to redeem. Five points per dollar spent is more than any credit card rewards program currently offers, but that amount is actually meaningless unless you know how many points you need for a particular gift.

Beyond these two categories, how to compare different types of credit cards is a matter of checking out the general features that can be found on all credit cards, such as interest rates, fees and charges.

• Comparison of Top 10 Credit Card Offers

Editor's Choice: Our Top Credit Cards

Credit Card	Card Details	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Interest free days (up to)
HSBC Credit Card	Editor's Choice: 0% for 6 months Balance Transfer & No Annual Fee Featuring a $0 annual fee for life, and 0% p.a. balance transfer for 6 months, the HSBC Credit Card was voted the Best Transactor Credit Card for 2010.	16.99%	20.75%	0% for 6 months	$0	55
Suncorp Clear Options Standard Visa Card	A great 12 month balance transfer offer, combined with a low annual fee and a good interest rate on purchases.	12.24%	17.99%	1.9% for 12 months	$39	0