July 4, 2007

Dissecting Credit Card Offers

I always have a large number of doubts when it comes to signs that proclaim "Zero Percent Interest" or "Flat Fifty Percent Off". At such times the only thought that seems to run through my mind is: "Where is the catch?" There usually is a catch. The question is: Does the catch overpower the benefits? That is the question that I ask myself just before I look for a new credit card or enter a sale. I usually find that the catch is quite insignificant when you take a look at the bigger picture.

I usually have a lot of these cynical moments when I am sifting through a new credit card. It seems to me that there are too many great offers going. It is as though they are too enthusiastic to sell me those credit cards. Why is there so much enthusiasm?

I mean, why would a company offer something like interest free credit cards? What will they get out of it? And what about the zero percent balance transfer credit cards? What is the deal with them?

Well, I think once you do away with the skepticism, you find that most of these ads are more or less true to what they say. A large number of interest free credit cards furnish a deal where you don't have to pay interest for a given number of months. After all, credit card companies are bogged down by cut-throat competition. Each has to attract more customers than its nearest rival.

The same reasoning holds with 0% balance transfer credit cards. The credit card companies want to do business with you. They want to sell you their credit cards. So they have to take the help of gimmicks like this to win you over to their side. In fact, balance transfer credit cards are a prime example of how credit card companies pull away the customers of other credit card companies.

How does this work? Suppose you have a credit card with one company but wish you could get a different credit card that charges a different rate of interest, you could contemplate about getting a hold of a balance transfer credit card. And there will be lots of cards that make you offers to which saying "No" would be a problem.

Competition is everything in the world today. Everyone is in the rat race to make their business grow, and everyone is in the rat race to win. So even though you should not be taking offers like "Zero Percent Interest" at face value, be aware that you are a likely customer. In this day and age, if you are the customer you will be treated like a king!

Ajeet Khurana recommends that you read: credit cards, interest free credit card offers, and 0% balance transfer credit cards.