There are many credit cards in the market. Each credit card has different terms and conditions. It is up to the customer to understand the features in each credit card and choose the type of credit card he/she deem suitable. When choosing a credit card, there are certain primary factors which I assess to determine the card which is suitable. These factors include late fees, rewards programs, balance computation methods, grace period, annual fees, and costs related to interest rates. In this discussion, three types of credit cards will be discussed: Chase Freedom® Card, BankAmerica Card Cash RewardsTM credit card, and Discover it® Cash Credit Card.
Chase Freedom® Card
Chase Freedom® Card has a number of benefits. There is a 5% earnings cash back for combined purchases valued up to $1,500 in categories with bonus. This applies each quarter the card is activated. In all other purchases one makes, there is a 1% automatic cash back. Provided the account is open, there is no expiry date for cash back rewards. Three months after opening account and spending $500 on purchases, one can earn $150 in bonus. There is a $25 bonus upon making the first purchase before the end of 3 months after account opening and upon adding the first authorized user. There is an introductory period where 0% on APR for fifteen months on balance transfers as well as purchases. A variable APR of 23.24%, 19.24%, and 14.24% applies at the end of the introductory period. There is a balance transfer fee equivalent to 3% of the value transferred with a minimum transfer amount of $5. The cardholder is protected for certain cardholders who opt to use cards with built-in security features.
BankAmerica Card Cash RewardsTM credit card
A 1% cash back is offered for every purchase. 2% cash back is offered for purchases made at grocery stores while 3% cash back applies to gas purchase for the first $1,500 in combined grocery/gas purchases made in each quarter. There is a 0% introductory offer for APR on both balance transfers and purchases. There is no annual fee. A 10% cash bonus is offered for redeeming cash back into a Bank of America® savings or checking account.
Discover it® Cash Credit Card.
No annual fee. All cash back earned automatically doubled at the end of the first year. Cash back of 5% in categories that change quarterly applicable only up to quarterly when one sign up. All other purchases with no cap attracts a 1% cash back or more. All rewards are redeemable in cash any time, regardless of the amount. Cash never expires. Cash back can be instantly used in Amazon.com. Security features include the ability to freeze accounts instantly. 0$ Fraud Liability Guarantee. Overnight shipping in case one wants to replace the card. APR hasn't affected by late payments. First late payment attracts no fee. Over limit fee don’t apply. Foreign transaction fee does not apply. Ability to track credit scores such as FICO free of charge with monthly statements downloadable online. 100% US 24/7 customer service. Accepted in over 9.3 million merchants in the US. Bill payable up to midnight on due day either online or via phone
A comparison of the three cards can be summarized in the table below. The comparison has been made while evaluating based on fee (1 category), Rewards (6 categories), security (3 categories), value (4 categories), and service (4 categories). A mark is awarded as per each category. For example, a maximum score is 6 for rewards because the rewards were assessed in 6 categories.
Based on the results in Table 1, Discover it® Cash Credit Card works best for me. This is because it has favorable terms with regard to annual fees, rewards, security, value, and service. What I discovered is that some credit cards such as Chase Freedom Card have rewards with hidden terms and conditions. This also applies to BankAmerica Card Rewards. Discover it ® do not have tough conditions like Chase Freedom card and BankAmerica Reward.
