Getting a new credit card is a big and most important step for your financial future. But it shouldn’t be taken lightly as it can make or break your finances. 

Credit cards are convenient and also help you build good credit scores while offering enticing perks like free air miles, cashback, and sign-up bonus that allow you to save a lot of bucks. While credit cards offer credit-building opportunities and savings, they can also become dangerous for your financial health when used irresponsibly. 

Below we will discuss some credit card surprises you must aware of to avoid debt and get the most out of your card. 

Read here how to do Victoria’s Secret card activation 

Lucrative sign-up offers come with an expiry

Thousands of travel points and miles for opening a credit card sounds enticing but you may need to spend thousands of dollars within a given period of time to get promoted benefits and rewards. This is the reason, you should read the fine before making a final decision and pick the right time to open a new card. For instance, if they want you to spend a huge sum of money in the beginning to claim free miles or sign-up offer, you should get a new card when you are about to make bulk purchases like buying kitchen appliances for a new home or booking a vacation plan for a month. 

Don’t assume you are getting all promoted perks &benefits

No doubt credit cards come with lucrative perks and rewards, never ever assume that you will be getting all of them just by opening a new card. You may be eligible for special offers like bonus spending, balance transfer, online shopping incentives, or free memberships for subscription services. But you may need to opt for any of these offers you are not enrolled automatically by the card provider. Talking to the customer services representative is a good idea to check what benefits you will get right after signing up for a card and what rewards you need to opt for via manual request. 

You will be paying for anyone you authorize 

One more enticing thing about credit cards is that you can add your children or any other trusted person to your account as an authorized user. But it is also important to take into account that their irresponsible actions can have serious consequences to your credit history or overall financial health. Even you may ask them to pay for the purchases or payments made, you will be the responsible person to pay off your bill. This is the reason, always add individuals as authorized users to your credit card account you trust. 

Not using your credit card can impact your credit score

Opening a new credit card is not enough to build good credit, but there are several factors that affect your credit scores. Things like submitting a credit card application, whether you carry a balance on your card, pay bills on time and what percentage of credit limit you use, can contribute to your credit history. In order to get the most out of your card, you need to perform transactions on a regular basis. If you don’t, it can have a bad impact on your credit scores instead of building good credit. So, keep using your card responsibly to earn good scores instead of building debt. 

Understand all the terms of services 

The agreement you are provided to sign from a credit card issued is the perfect source of information for everything you may need to know about your credit card. The agreement explains the relationship and expectations between the cardholder and credit card provider in a detailed manner. Make sure to go through the agreement carefully and understand all the terms with good. The terms of services booklet enclosed in the agreement may contain several pages, but you should read them carefully to have a clear idea about what credit card benefits you will enjoy on what terms and conditions.

Edward Bertrand