The most important factor to look at is the long term interest rate.  Most credit card companies offer interest rates that are “as low as x.99%.”  Credit cards that advertise rates in this manner offer either a range or three tiers of possible interest rates.  For example, one credit card currently offering rates as low as 13.24% only provides that rate to customers with excellent credit.  Customers with good credit are charged a rate of 18.24%, and customers who meet approval criteria, but don’t qualify for the first two rates are offered a 23.24% interest rate.  Unfortunately, credit card companies do not reveal what your long term rate will be until after you have completed the application and it has been reviewed.  Thus, be sure to check your long term rate before you activate your card.  If it is too high, apply for a credit card that may provide a lower interest rate.

The second important factor to look for when seeking the best credit cards is the language surrounding the 0% APR offer.  For example, some credit cards offer 0% interest rates for up to 12 months, but many only grant these rates for as little as three to six months.  Again, you will not find out how long your 0% rate lasts until after your card arrives in the mail, but usually, only the people with great credit get the longest 0% rates.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, it is always wise to wait until your credit card arrives in the mail to transfer balances, as many credit cards offer online balance transfers for up to 12 months, but may approve you, transfer your balances, and then offer you a 0% APR for only six months.

Ultimately, finding the best credit cards takes some detective work.  However, by paying attention to the factors noted above, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.

Fortunately, credit card companies are looking to replace the customers they chased away with rate hikes and credit limit cuts and replace them with new customers.  Unfortunately, getting approved for the best credit card offers will require much better credit than it did a year ago.  Nevertheless, consumers seeking to take advantage of 0% APR credit card offers will find more than a few credit cards offering these rates on purchases and balance transfers for up to 12 months.

For the time being, these credit cards also come with no annual fees and relatively low long term interest rates, especially compared to the jacked up interest rates many of us have been forced to pay by our current credit card companies.

In general, consumers with excellent credit can easily get a 0% APR on new purchases or balance transfers for 12 months, while those with good credit will likely be able to get 0% rates for six to twelve months, depending on the credit card company.

Consumers with average or below average credit are likely to find much less appealing credit card offers.  Many companies have stopped issuing so called subprime credit cards, and those that do often charge hefty fees, nosebleed interest rates or require security deposits.  However, credit cards that require security deposits provide consumers with an opportunity to rebuild credit without paying $200 or more in annual fees, a common price charged by subprime lenders.

Overall, positive signs abound in the credit card industry.  After a rough year, credit card offers are improving and consumers forced to pay higher interest rates may now find more ways to get away from the credit card companies that shunned them.

For more information or to apply online, you can review credit card applications here.

Determining credit limits is an internal process that varies substantially from one credit card company to another.  In fact, the only thing credit card companies have in common when it comes to determining credit limits is that none of them can provide you with as little as an estimate of your limit until you have submitted a completed application.

In a nutshell, this means that you will not find out your credit limit until your application is processed and approved.  This can take anywhere from a few business days to a few weeks, based on the issuer, your credit, and a multitude of other factors.

Finding a credit card with a high limit is a lot like playing three card monty.  You select a card and wait to see if its the right one.  However, there are steps you can take to get the credit limit you desire.

First, apply for credit cards that advertise high credit limits.  (We have made a list of these high limit credit offers at Smart Credit Choices for easy review.)

Second, consider applying for more than one credit card.  This strategy provides a number of benefits.  First, it can provide you a combined credit limit that meets your needs.  Second, it increases the chances of a credit card showing up in your mailbox quickly.  Most importantly, however, it gives you the option of reviewing the final offers of multiple credit cards and using the one that works best for you.

For more information, please visit the high limit credit card section of SmartCreditChoices.com$

THE PROBLEM:  The most straightforward hidden fee you will incur by paying your taxes by credit card is a 3% cash advance fee.  This fee, which has no dollar limit, will cost you $30 for every $1000 you pay in taxes.  Unfortunately, there is no way around this fee.  All credit cards charge a 3% cash advance fee.  It is, however, important to keep this in mind.

Now, the complicated part.  As someone who has spent way too much of his life reading credit card fine print, I consider myself privvy to all of the nasty tricks credit card companies play.  And the trick I am about to explain is by far the worst.  Here’s the basic deal:  all payments you make to your credit card apply to the balance with the lowest interest rate.  So let’s say you have a $3000 balance on your credit card from purchases being charged a 12% interest rate and you take a $3000 cash advance.  A typical cash advance interest rate is between 22% to 27%.  Therefore, if you send in $3000 to pay your bill, you will pay off the low rate balance and be stuck paying 20% interest on the cash advance you took to pay your taxes.

The Solution:  While the number of these offers is limited, there are a handful of credit cards that offer a 0% interest rate on cash advances.  This rate lasts for up to 1 year.  With a 0% APR cash advance credit card, you can easily save over $600 on interest, plus prevent the headache that comes from using your previous credit card.

If you’ve already used a credit card for a cash advance and are paying astronomical cash advance interest rates, you may want to consider a credit card that offers 0% APR balance transfers.  With one of these credit cards, you can also save hundreds of dollars on interest.  You can compare all balance transfer credit cards in the balance transfers section of Smart Credit Choices.  Also, below is a list of the top three offers:

Bank of America also issues a number of credit cards that offer a 0% APR on balance transfers and cash advances.  However, they do not offer a card with a 0% APR for 1 year on purchases and balance transfers.

Discover offers a tiered structure of 0% for 1 year on balance transfers and 0% for 6 months on purchases. 

American Express still offers one card with a 0% APR on purchases for 15 months, but no cards with 0% deals on purchases and balance transfers.

Overall, the movement away from offering consumers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers is a disturbing trend.  Hopefully, the credit card companies won’t strip us of all the good offers.

As of now, the number of 0% offers hasn’t changed.  However, recent visitor feedback seems to indicate getting approved for a top tier deal, such as a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for a year, is getting harder.  A number of visitors who believed they had very good credit wrote they were either rejected or recieved a card with a lower than expected credit limit.

 Smart Credit Choices will be monitoring the situation.  As more details become available, we’ll let our readers know here.