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Do
Credit Card Companies Matter? |
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Do
Credit Card Companies Matter?
by: Tom Tessin
When looking for
a credit card, you have to ask yourself so many questions. What kind
of rewards do I want? What card has the best APR rate? I think you
get the picture. The one thing you may ask yourself but don’t
know the answer to is, “Does a credit card company really matter?”
The simple question
is yes. Let’s start off with the top four credit card companies.
You have VISA, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Each and
every credit card will vary. We will break it down on what you should
look at when it comes to the credit card company itself.
Look
for reviews online
Do a quick Google
search online on the card carrier you want to apply to. Just pop in
a simple search like “VISA reviews”. Go ahead and browse
around the reviews. Keep in mind that a lot of people will always
post negative comments. You will always find more negative comments
than positive comments online. Don’t let that discourage you.
You will usually get a feel on what card is the best for your particular
category.
Rates
Differences
Each credit card
company usually varies when it comes to credit card rates. You will
find particularly on our website that VISA tends to have lower APR
rates, while Discover has the higher ones.
Customer
Support
Customer support
tends to tie in with the reviews but it’s always nice to see
what companies offer what kind of customer service. Do you have to
go through a million prompts to get to a human? Do they have English
speaking support? These are more questions you may want to ask yourself.
You would hate to get on the phone when your credit card is stolen
and you have to talk with someone that can barely even speak English.
Where
are they accepted?
Believe it or not
but VISA and Mastercard are accepted in a lot more places compared
to Discover and American Express. This will only matter to you if
you shop at smaller mom and pop shops. If you plan on using your card
at major retailers like Best Buy, CostCo, etc., you shouldn’t
have a problem with any company being accepted.
Ask
Friends and Family
Before you apply,
be sure to ask your friends and family what kind of credit cards they
carry. Ask them what they like and hate about their card. From there,
you should be able to get a decent idea on what type of credit card
will work for you.
If you
ask these simple questions to yourself, you shouldn’t have a
problem finding the right credit card company. In the long run, you
will find that most of them are pretty similar to each other. Just
look at it from a grocery store perspective. Every grocery store is
similar in a way but one may offer better customer service than another.
The same goes to a credit card company. Just remember to take your
time when picking out your first credit card and ask around to find
out what credit card is the best for you!
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