Online Credit Cards and Financial Responsibility

Getting a credit card in Australia is not something to be rushed as it can be a ticket to the "debt cycle." Credit cards can be a great asset in the right hands but you need to take a long hard look at your own hands to see if they can handle a credit card responsibly without dragging you into heavy debt.

Nowadays there are plenty of resources to help us compare online credit cards and we can even make credit card applications online, but before we get to that stage let's look at our own spending and repayment habits and make an assessment of our own personal financial management skills.

There are plenty of ways to save money by using a credit card wisely so let's look at a few questions we can ask ourselves that will help us know if we are suited to a credit card: are we responsible enough to pay off the balance within the interest-free period? Will we pay off more than the minimum required to reduce the amount of interest, if possible? Are we responsible enough to avoid high interest charges by not getting a cash advance on our card? Will we only have one card or are we looking at multiple cards? Will we have a credit card limit that reflects what we can afford and not more?

If we answer yes to the above questions then the likelihood is we can manage our finances well enough to enjoy the benefits of a credit card without is costing us for years to come. We can browse through the best online credit cards on the Australian personal finance sites that aggregate all the offers and sort them by interest-free period, annual fee, purchase rate, cash advance rate and balance transfer rate. Pick out a couple of the key factors – you probably won’t get everything you want from your card, as the banks always make their money somehow – but concentrating on a long interest free period and a low annual fee might suit what you’re after, for example.

Once you have compared and decided you can normally go ahead and make your online credit card application from the same personal finance site. Make sure you have all personal information and financial status information available as you will need to provide this during your application. You will be redirected to a secure site where you will complete the online application and await contact from the issuing authority about its status.

For more information regarding credit card applications, online credit cards and credit card interest rate, please visit: www.lowerbills.com.au