As we enter week three of the new year (I know, crazy!), I need to ask you a really tough, and personal question.
How long have you been using the same credit card?
Take a moment and think hard about it, I’ll wait. While you contemplate, let me drop some knowledge.
A new survey found that 25 million Americans haven’t changed their credit cards in more than a decade. What’s more, another 20 million have never even considered changing credit card companies. I love loyalty as much as the next golden retriever, but you may be passing up deals, rates, lower fees and great rewards that could help you save money in the long run.
So, what can I do to take advantage of what’s out there?
What you’ll want to do is take a look at what else is out there and which company is offering the best deal. Shop around a bit. Finding a credit card could almost be comparable to finding the right spouse. Okay, that’s clearly an exaggeration, but you get what I mean. You’ll want to vet your options and check restrictions and any fees that could incur. Some independent research of my own shows that the cards with the best rewards include the Chase® Sapphire Preferred® card, the Citi® ThankYou® Premier card, and Barclaycard Visa®.
You can compare your potential new credit card’s features with websites like CreditKarma, CreditCards.com, and Nerd Wallet. I happen to really like CreditCards.com.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want anyone going into more debt or your credit score being negatively affected because of your current credit card debt. If you know you just don’t have the financial discipline to acquire another credit card, don’t do it! Also, closing cards with the longest history could negatively affect credit! So be careful.
And, please, please, please remember, this is not for everyone. Acquiring or applying for credit cards could have an adverse effect on your credit score and credit history. So, don’t go opening all the cards I mentioned just because I mentioned them. Be smart and use that sound financial decision making to make the right choices for your financial future.
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[ABC World News] Video: Switching Credit Cards Could Save You Money