Ordering a credit card seems to be easy to the average observer, i.e. the person looking from the sidelines, without an actual intention to get and use one of these.
When youâre in the front row, though, i.e. among the people who really want to make the final step and order a credit card, the process suddenly becomes much more complicated.
Why? Because itâs always easy to be smart while on the sidelines, but making the actual decision and the concrete moves towards getting your card is more difficult, as it requires knowledge you may not have at the moment.
Knowledge on how to make the best choice and how to bestill the right kredittkort for you.
Fortunately, gaining that knowledge is not that difficult, but it can be time-consuming, so get ready to postpone the ordering process for a while until youâve learned everything you need to know on how to make this choice and how to order the best card for you.
Figuring out how to do things correctly will lead you to get the perfect deal and be happy with the card youâve chosen instead of regretting it after a short while.
Regrets can happen if you choose and order recklessly, on a whim, and without taking any of the important things into consideration.
That wonât happen to you, though, as youâre clearly ready to learn and do what it takes, and youâll find out what it takes below.
First, Find Various Ones Online
The great thing is that the online world is filled with info you need, including info regarding credit cards, meaning you can, and should, start your research there. Without knowing what types of cards exist in the first place, as well as which providers operate in this industry, making a mistake will be easy, and weâre clearly here not to let that happen. Searching for these financial tools online should, thus, be your first step, and you should couple it with learning about the different types of cards â types that usually differ in the features and the rewards theyâre offering. Something weâll talk about later in detail. For now, just use the Internet to get familiar with as many types and providers you can find.
And Make A List Of Those You Find Interesting
Making a list of those you find interesting should be the next step. Youâll decide whatâs interesting based on the features of the cards, but also based on the actual providers, given that you will have heard of some of those below, while others will be completely unknown to you. Do give a chance to the ones that are unknown to you, though, because you wonât know if theyâre great or not without doing any research on them. So, donât be exclusive when making the list and donât be shy to add as many options as you want, because youâll keep on eliminating the options as you progress with your research with the next steps youâll take.
Find A Website Comparing Them
Before you bestill one of those credit cards youâll find, youâll obviously have to compare them in great details. Doing so manually, i.e. by writing everything down about every single one of the options youâve found and then spending hours trying to pinpoint similarities and differences can be helpful, but it seems like a futile job, given that someone else has already done it for us. Said differently, doing it alone is waste of time when there are websites designed to present you with all the data on just one page, making the comparison part as easy as it gets.
Finding a trusted website to do this is of utmost importance, though, because you want the data you get from those to be accurate and precise. Fortunately, great sources do exist, and it is simply your task to search for them, online once again, and find at least one that offers objective and factual information about the cards youâre considering and about the providers youâve added to that list of yours. Comparing all the info will be easy once you find such a useful source, so perhaps you should start searching for it right away.
And Compare The Effective Interest Rates
Comparing wonât be easy, though, if you donât know what to, well, compare. Finding all the data on those websites, but not knowing what they refer to and whether you need to consider them when choosing or not can lead to you ignoring some rather important elements, factors that influence the overall quality of the kredittkort youâll get. Such as the effective interest rate, for example. This is basically the real percentage rate that youâll owe in interest on your credit card, and it is the factor that absolutely needs to be compared when choosing among those cards.
The higher the rate, the more youâll owe, meaning that people are interested in finding as low rates as possible, so that they can pay less in interest. Cards with lower rates are essentially cheaper than the ones with higher rates, so itâs not a surprise that everyone is aiming for those. Comparing the rates, thus, will help you figure out how much the kredittkort will actually cost, allowing you to check if the interest youâll be paying is reasonable or if it is a bit over the top. Expect to get higher rates on credit cards than on loans, though, as this is unsecured debt, and itâs normal for interest to be higher on unsecured debt compared to secured one.
As Well As The Annual Fees
Other factors also influence the cost of your card and its overall quality, such as the annual fees, for example. The good news here is that most providers offer 0 annual fee credit cards, and those are the ones you should aim for when trying to make up your mind. Finding those that charge certain annual fees, however, is not uncommon, so donât make any assumptions and always check these fees before deciding anything. Like I said, a lot of great providers donât charge the annual fee, but remember to check instead of jumping to conclusions.
The Maximum Credit Limit
The maximum credit card limit is another thing to keep in mind when trying to make this choice. While it usually ranges from NOK 100,000 to NOK 150,000, there are also providers that donât put a limit on the credit. The unlimited option is not exactly standard, but it can be found. Donât, however, assume that you need the unlimited solution and that itâs automatically the best one, because other factors, including those effective interest rates weâve talked about, affect the quality of the card. Plus, your specific spending habits and the purpose you want to use the kredittkort for will give you a clear idea on what a good enough maximum credit limit is, meaning that going for the unlimited option doesnât have to be the best move, and it often isnât even necessary.
Get more advice on how to make this choice: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/how-to-choose-a-credit-card/
And The Benefits And Rewards
Speaking of your spending habits and the purpose of actually using the card, those need to be considered for another reason as well. Most providers offer certain benefits on their cards, such as giving you a percentage of money back for specific category purchases or allowing you to earn travel points you can later spend on gas, airline and hotel perks. The rewards vary, and you need to think about what you need, i.e. what kinds of rewards youâd benefit from, so as to choose the best option for you. If, for instance, you tend to travel a lot, you should go for the kredittkort that offers great traveling points and rewards, as you can redeem the points for different purchases youâll make while traveling.
Once Youâve Chosen, Place The Order
When you come to this point, youâll be ready to actually bestill your kredittkort, which is the easy part, especially nowadays, given that most providers offer the option of ordering these online. Deciding on a provider will take you to their official site, where youâll find the ordering procedure explained in great details, and all you need to do is follow it. Following it will lead to placing your order and then waiting for the kredittkort to arrive. Once it arrives, youâll be excited to start using it.
