What are Low Interest Rate Credit Cards?
June 22, 2010
What do you dislike most about your credit cards? If you’re the type of consumer who likes to finance purchases over time, your answer might very well be “the interest rate.” The higher your interest rate is, the more money you’ll pay to the credit card company in addition to the amount you “borrowed” by paying for purchases with your card. Therefore, if you like to finance purchases your best bet would be to find a low interest rate credit card.
Today let’s explore low interest rate credit cards, what they are, different types of low interest rate offers, and how these types of credit cards work:
The Basics of Low Interest Credit Cards
Low interest rate credit cards are really quite self-explanatory. They’re credit cards with low annual percentage rates. However, credit cards often have two or three different types of interest rates — purchase rates, balance transfer rates, and cash advance rates. When we talk about “low interest credit cards” we’re generally referring to low purchase rates.
What constitutes a low purchase rate on a credit card? That would really depend on what you personally consider low. For example if you currently pay 14%, then you might consider a 10% rate low but not a 13% rate. If you currently pay 19%, even that 14% rate could be a low interest card in comparison. Here on CreditCardOffers.com.au, our low interest rate credit cards page generally features offers of around 16% purchase rates or less.
How Low Interest Rate Credit Cards Work
A low interest rate credit card is just your run-of-the-mill credit card, simply featuring a low purchase rate. You would use it just like you would use any other card. However, these cards are your best picks if you want to finance a large purchase (such as new furniture) and pay off the balance over time. If you pay off your balance in full every month, there’s probably no need to switch to a low interest credit card, because you’ll likely be covered by interest free days anyway.
Just be careful when comparing low interest rate credit card offers. Some of the extremely low interest rates offered from time to time are only temporary introductory offers. So pay attention to the ongoing purchase rate as well (which is usually still low, just higher than the introductory offer advertised).
Examples of Low Interest Credit Cards
If you want to compare a few low interest credit card offers to get a better feel for what kind of low rates are available, here are a few options:
1. Westpac Low Rate MasterCard or Visa
2. St. George Vertigo MasterCard
3. ANZ Low Rate MasterCard
You can find even more low interest rate credit cards by visiting our Credit Card Offers homepage.
Below are 3 of our most popular and recommended credit card offers:
Purchase Rate (p.a.) |
Cash Rate (p.a.) |
Balance Transfer |
Interest Free Days |
Annual Fee |
||
Citibank Clear Platinum |
11.99% | 21.74% | 2.9% for 12 months | up to 55 days | $49 | More Info |
ANZ Platinum Credit Card |
0% for 6 months | 21.49% | 0% for 6 months | up to 44 days | $0 first year | More Info |
Westpac Low Rate Credit Card |
0% for 6 months | 21.49% | 0% for 6 months | up to 55 days | $45 | More Info |
