It’s sad but today most credit card issuers are devious and they’ve designed everything possible in to the fine print of the terms of service to trap you. Therefore, when looking at any charge card offer, make sure you take a close consider the fine print.

Believe me, I am fully aware that it’s purposely come up with to appear just like a maze, but because it’s so vitally important to your financial well-being along with the current trend towards “relatively” easier-to-read summary boxes you no longer have a legitimate excuse for ignoring the tos.

That being said, I’ve outlined a few of the key aspects to look for that are normally “hidden” away in the fine print on most credit card offers.

The Annual Fee

Although it’s not as common as it once was, it’s still around. Especially, around the so-called higher status Gold and Platinum cards which still often charge higher fees than the “basic” credit card. Annual fees are merely an easy way to get another $39.95 to $79.95 or more from every single customer. It may not sound like much however it adds up when you’ve got millions of customers. Should you give the company a call you can normally get it waived and if they won’t then do not take out the card or cancel the one you’ve got - it’s the principle of it.

Late Payment Fees and Penalty Charges

Cash advance fees, overtime charges and exceeding your borrowing limit are the types of fees you need to pay attention to when checking out the fine print. Many cards have unjustifiably high fees and when they do you should not sign up for them. Just say no!

Calculating Interest

Because it’s so difficult to understand (they create it this way on purpose) this is often one of the most overlooked, yet main reasons hidden away within the fine print. There are basically three methods being used to calculate interest on your balances.

Adjusted Balance

Less common as it was previously but some companies continue to be using it. In a nutshell, you are charged interest on whatever your balance was on the day the company sent you the bill.

Previous Balance

Basically, this process is simply a horse of the different color. In this version you’re charged interest on your balance as it stood after the previous billing cycle regardless of how much you’ve spent or repaid since. Some think about this a tad bit simpler to understand.

Average Daily Balance

Last and surely not least. This process is currently the most typical and it’s also the most complicated. That way your balance is added up at the end of each day in the billing cycle, it’s then divided by number of days that have transpired in that billing cycle and interest rates are charged within this amount. I know, clear as mud.

In case your balance jumps around this method may be slightly better for you than the other methods since it keeps you against paying full interest on a balance that just happened to be large around the billing date.

You should also be paying attention to the monthly rate of interest as opposed to just relying on the annual percentage rate. APR is an estimate of the total cost of borrowing but it is the monthly interest as well as the various fees and charge which will show you exactly how much you are paying.

Grace Period

This really is extremely important for around 40% of all credit card holders because this is the approximate number of people who repay their balances each month. It’s also important for that remaining 60% because you’ll be able to avoid interest on new purchases for the first Thirty days or so. As a result, make sure that the card you’re looking at has a grace period on purchases; otherwise, you could end up being charged interest from the moment you buy something. On the other hand, virtually no credit card company offers a card having a grace period on payday loans or charge card checks.

Currency Conversion Fees

This only applies if you plan on using a card away from country. If it does apply for you, take a look at what you will be charged for transactions made in other currencies. Some cards are much more expensive than others.

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