When it comes to credit card offers, low annual fees are great. Low interest rates can be even better! But do you really take advantage of your low rate credit card, or do you sometimes take that feature for granted?

Here are some ways you can get more from your low rate credit card:

1. Finance purchases.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with paying off your balance in full every month. In fact, it’s a great way to avoid building credit card debt. But if you’re never going to finance a purchase, what’s the point of applying for a low interest credit card? You wouldn’t be paying interest no matter what the rate was anyway.

Go ahead and consider that big purchase you’ve been putting off, because you know it will take you a few months to pay off completely. Make your low rate credit card work for you, especially if you’re still within a very low rate introductory period (maybe even 0% if you have a card like the NAB Low Rate Visa).

2. Transfer a balance.

Do you pay too much interest on other credit card balances? If so, consider transferring those balances to your low rate credit card to save money. It doesn’t even matter if you’ve passed your card’s introductory balance transfer offer, as long as your low rate card would let you pay less overall than your other credit card (including interest and balance transfer fees).

If you do still have an active introductory offer on balance transfers, find out what rate those balances will revert to when the offer expires. The St. George Vertigo credit card, for example, will revert balance transfer rates to your low purchase rate on expiration of the offer. Other cards will have those balances revert to a higher cash advance rate, so be careful before initiating a balance transfer — always know what you’re signing on for.

3. Add another cardholder.

You’re not the only one who could benefit from a low interest rate. Consider adding your partner to your account as an additional cardholder so you can both be authorized to make purchases under that lower rate. Some cards, like the BankWest Lite MasterCard, even offer free additional cardholders.

Bonus: add an additional cardholder to a low rate rewards card like the ANZ Balance credit card and you can work together to earn more rewards points!

These techniques for getting the most of your low interest credit cards might be common sense, but still many consumers never put them to use! If you apply for a low rate credit card, figure out how you can make it work for you first, so you don’t pass up any special introductory offers. Then decide on a long-term plan to really make your low rate card worth your while.