This article is in relation to Australian credit card providers. I’m sure you will find that the same or similar information will be true for credit providers in your country/region. Why is it that these types of business are all about ‘Buyer beware” especially when even our respective governments teach us that these same companies are to be trusted…(Banks, Financial Institutions)?

An Australian consumer advocate group, Choice, has released information from a study carried out on 20 credit card companies here in Australia.

It showed that the amount of interest charged on credit cards varies greatly between providers, (when the provider starts and stops charging interest and how fairly they apply the interest free days as actually advertised interest rate).

The fairer credit providers were shown to be Heritage building society, Bendigo Bank, Certain GE cards, and Teachers Credit Union, while the most unfair credit card providers mentioned in the study were, American Express (no surprises here), Commonwealth Bank, Bankwest, ANZ, and also Westpac.

The tricks of the Banking trade make it very difficult, if not nearly downright impossible for the consumer to compare the merits and relative benefits of competing card providers’ as the headline interest rate is only part of the story.Most card companies backdate the interest rate to the purchase date, if your repayment on the credit card is late (this means that if your one day late you will pay the whole interest amount on the preceding 55 days) or even if you might under pay by a slight amount (ie:- if you make any shortfall, even as low as $5.00) and if this happens on an amount of, say, $2500.00 that is really going to hurt. Consumers would be very surprised to know that if they had 2 credit cards with exactly the same interest rates and used them in the same way, (similar purchase amounts and repayments of interest etc) they could be charged twice as much interest on one credit card for overdue interest than on the other.

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The process of applying for a credit card can often be a long once.

After the application form has been filled in (a time-consuming task in itself) consumers are often left waiting to hear whether they’ve been accepted for weeks at which point they may not have time to complete the process.

For this reason, instant decision cards are proving increasingly popular, particularly for consumers with a blemish-free borrowing record.

Instant decision cards can also have the advantage of encompassing a whole range of standard plastic card types.

For example, some 0% balance transfer card offers are available through an instant approval process which could potentially save those who are paying high-interest debts on other credit cards money in the long term.

Finally, since instant decision credit cards tend to use the major credit reference agencies – such as Equifax – to make their decisions, it can be easier to predict the lender’s decision than with a traditional online card application.

This is because consumers are able to view these credit records themselves.

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Deciding on what type of credit card to apply for depends on your past credit history. I had no idea how important maintaining good credit was until I lost my credit cards. You’ll want to avoid bad credit at all costs but sometimes we simply run into circumstances beyond our control.

Many people lose their privilege of having a credit card due to missed payments and create a bad credit rating in their credit bureau file. I had previously owned six cards and lost all of them because of a change in my financial situation that made it impossible to keep up payments. The result was mountains of debt and bad credits.

If you need to rent a car or book a hotel in the future, good luck. These companies want a credit card number in case there is damage or if someone takes something they shouldn’t have. I’ve also been stuck when my car broke down, only to find when I tried to rent one, the rental company refused me due to lack of a credit cards as a result of my bad credits.

Booking vacations and hotels are a struggle without a credit card as well. On a recent business trip I had the embarrassment of having to pay with cash at check-out time. I’m felt as though they must have known I didn’t have a credit card and thankfully my business partners weren’t there to see me. I can now proudly book hotels, vacations and car rentals with ease with my First Millennium Platinum Card.

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