If you’ve ever compared credit cards, you’re familiar with introductory offers. Maybe the credit card company is offer 0% interest on balance transfers for six months. Perhaps they’re waiving their annual fee for your first year, like the Woolworths Everyday Money credit card. They might be offering a lower interest rate on purchases for a few months. They could offer to give you extra rewards points when you first use your new rewards card. All of these introductory credit card offers are designed to do one thing — entice you to apply.

But should you?

How to Know if an Introductory Offer is Worthwhile

When comparing those introductory offers, you have to remember that they won’t last for the life of the card. You should also keep in mind that every credit card application can show on your credit file for five years (meaning you shouldn’t assume it’s a smart financial decision to bounce from one introductory offer to another). There are two key elements to determining if an introductory offer is worthwhile:

1. What will the terms become after the introductory period? If the interest rate will skyrocket, for example, the credit card may not be as affordable as it appears up front.

2. Will you actually take advantage of the introductory offer? A special balance transfer rate doesn’t matter if you don’t have a balance to transfer (or if you’re already enjoying a low interest rate in some cases). A low purchase interest rate for a few months might not be a worthwhile consideration if you always pay off your balance during your interest free days anyway, because you wouldn’t be subjected to interest at all. If you don’t expect to spend much using a rewards card, initial rewards bonuses might not be important (as you might not earn enough points throughout the year to redeem them anyway). It’s all about your personal spending habits.

Make the regular credit card terms a priority in most cases, and think of any introductory offers as a bonus instead of an incentive to choose that credit card. That way you’ll increase your chances of being happy with your new credit card in the long run. (Note: An exception would be if you’re looking for a balance transfer card solely to take advantage of the 0% or low interest offer, and you plan to pay off the balance transfer in full during that introductory period.)

By all means, take advantage of introductory credit card offers. As long as you’re prepared for the regular terms to take effect down the road, you can absolutely save money. The trick is to go into that credit card application with a plan. If you want a balance transfer card, like the ANZ Low Rate MasterCard, then prepare a payment plan for paying off that balance in full during the introductory period. If you want to finance a large ticket purchase for a few months with more favourable interest rates, then plan to make that purchase shortly after being approved for the credit card (leaving you more time to pay off the balance at the lower interest rate). In that sense, introductory credit card offers are ultimately what you choose to make of them. Choose wisely.