Credit cards are widely used for both online and offline transactions due to convenience offered. For online transactions, they offer a degree of protection against fraud as the credit card owner can dispute a transaction, if he or she is wrongly charged. However, if the credit card owner delays payment of the amount due , the interest to be paid on the credit card is very high as the interest rates charged by credit card companies are significantly higher than those charged by banks for loans since the amount is not secured.
So it is important to carefully evaluate the positive and negative features of the credit cards offered by the various credit card companies in great detail before taking a final decision and selecting a particular credit card. An online credit card comparison offers information on the different credit cards based on criteria like balance transfers, interest to be paid on purchases and average APR to be paid. The APR is variable and depends on a number of factors. 0% interest is charged for balance transfers for periods which could vary from 12 months to 16 months. Interest on purchases is 0% for 3 months. The APR varies from 15.9% to 16.9%. The credit cards compared are those from Virgin, HSBC, MBNA rewards, Egg and World Wildlife Fund. You can apply for these credit cards online.
If you do have a credit history, it is advisable to get prepaid credit cards . These can be obtained easily and do not require much paper work. Some of these credit cards have an activation fee, but in other credit cards, this fee is waived off. Prepaid credit cards are ideal for students. However, a monthly maintenance fee is usually charged for these cards by the issuer.