For all the treats, there may be a few tricks – but, thankfully, they’re avoidable. Here are a few credit card tricks to watch out for:
- Late fees and penalty APRs: Paying your credit card bill late may result in a late fee and an increased APR. To avoid this, automate your monthly payment or just be diligent about making your payment on time. Some credit cards will waive your fee on your first offense, but you don’t want to regularly forget to make your payment in a timely manner.
- Balance transfer fees: If you get into debt and decide to transfer your balance to another card, you’ll likely have to pay a fee of 3% to 4%. In general, only transfer balances that you can’t pay off in six months or less, otherwise the fee won’t be worth it.
- 0% introductory APR expiration: Many credit cards come with a 0% APR for 12-18 months, allowing you to carry a balance from one month to the next without accruing interest. This is great, but remember that the introductory APR will expire. For credit card newbies, it’s probably a good idea to pay off the balance in full each month, even when the APR is 0%.
