Credit Cards Comparison: How to know the cards with the best bonus offers, rewards rate, annual fees…
There are a handful of credit cards out there and this gives people a wide range of options to pick from depending on what they want.
While some desire a credit card that will help them build their credit score, others are particular about a credit card that will offer them a lot of bonuses or cash back based on their purchases.
These, among other factors, give rise to credit card comparison in the financial market. So, it is hard to pick or say which credit card is the best, Instead, each credit has its unique figures.
So when comparing credit cards, it will be rather unfair to generalize. Therefore, it is better to do the comparison based on what one is looking to get from acquiring a credit card.
In this piece, we shall do some credit cards comparison based on annual fees, rewards rate, intro APR, bonus offers, credit score among other factors.
Our credit cards comparison will be based on cards produced by three major companies; Mastercard, VISA, and American Express. These three are the most popular makers of both credit and debit cards which are issued by banks and other financial institutions.
- Credit Score
A credit score is a number between 300-850 which is used in measuring the creditworthiness of an applicant. It is measured through the following factors; several open accounts, debt level, repayments level, Types of credit accounts (mortgages, car loans, credit cards) among other factors.
One of the major metrics used in assessing a credit score is credit utilization or the percentage of available credit currently being used.
To apply for a credit card, you need to have a certain credit score before you can apply for the card. Some credit card issuers set their credit score depending on the benefits their potential customer will enjoy while using the card.
Let compare these two cards; Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Bank of America®’s Travel Rewards credit card.
Both cards offer great travel rewards for holders and you will need to get a very high score to get one of them. While the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is set at 750-850, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is slightly lower than the Chase Sapphire with $700 – $850 required credit.
- Annual Fees
This is the amount credit card issuers charge their customers yearly for using their cards. Each credit card issuer sets the amount they charge yearly for being a cardholder.
While some credit cards waive the annual fee on their cards to attract customers, financial institutions that issue travel credit cards reward credit cards, always have an annual fee.
Now let us do a credit comparison between the Cash Sapphire Reserve credit card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® credit card. The former is one of the most prestigious credit cards and it has an APR of $550 while the former doesn’t charge its holders as the annual fee is set at $0.
