By Akul Rankan. Edited by Arjun Chandrasekar.
Overview
Credit cards, are the lifeblood of consumer consumption and are often a tough choice to make when acquiring one. With thousands of credit cards and companies, it becomes quite a challenge to narrow down which ones are optimal for you. And with changing times, credit cards change t00, so keeping up with the latest trends and changes is important.
Commonly Used Terms
Before we dive into the best credit cards, it’s important to be completely familiarized with certain terminology you may encounter. First and foremost, a credit score is a score from 300 – 850 that resembles your efficiency in paying your bills and credit demands on time, and it is used to measure whether or not a company may allow you a credit card. A low credit score shows unreliable and can lead to rejection. The credit limit is the maximum credit you can stockpile on your card. One of the key things when choosing a credit card is APR or annual percentage rate which is the interest you pay for being allowed to borrow money. Balance is the money you need to pay off and late fees are the extra cost for not paying the bills on time.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
This particular Chase card offers no annual fee and has an intro APR period of 15 months where the APR is 0%, then 15-22% after the grace period. They have no annual fee or minimum redemption amount – no minimum to redeem a cashback. They also offer a higher rewards rate. Unfortunately, the credit score they require is quite high recruiting at least a 700 credit score, making it difficult for someone beginning their credit card journey.
Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
The Blue Cash preferred card is designed for better and more efficient cash back, with up to 6% cashback rates. The high rewards rate comes with a buy now pay later feature (BNPL), which allows you to purchase an item and pay it back in several installments for a slight interest or no interest at all. The cashback applies to supermarkets and streaming services, giving a variety of uses. They do come with an annual fee of 95$ and they do have a capped spending amount of reward bonuses.
Discover it – Secured Credit Card
This credit card is optimized for newcomers trying to build up a good credit score from scratch, it requires no credit score to get approved making it accessible for everyone. As it does not require a credit score, it does require a minimum maintained deposit as insurance. There is no annual fee and you can qualify for decent benefits at 2% cashback. The main drawback is the high APR rate at a varied 24%. The card reports to the three major credit bureaus, giving you a reliable credit history buildup.
