Which credit card to choose for Christmas : Credit Card Guide

Which credit card to choose for Christmas

For many people the most convenient, affordable, and simplest way to pay for the expenses associated with Christmas is to use a credit card.

With Christmas just around the corner many people are now gearing themselves up to get hold of a suitable credit card so that they can put Christmas on the plastic and enjoy a little more financial freedom. Having a credit card available for use over Christmas means that you can enjoy making purchases without having to dip into savings, carry around cash, or write cheques. It also allows you to spread the cost of Christmas should you wish to do so, increasing affordability and easing finances over this expensive time of year.

It is important to remember that as Christmas gets nearer more and more people start submitting credit card applications in preparation for the festive season. Many credit card providers find themselves inundated with a sudden rush of applications from consumers that want to get their credit cards through in time for Christmas, and as a result of this processing times can be far longer than at other times of the year.

Post is also slower over the Christmas period due to the increase in postal deliveries, and this can further delay the receipt of your card. It is therefore important that you get your application in as early as possible in order to ensure that you get your card in plenty of time for Christmas. However, before you do this you need to determine what type of card will best suit your needs.

There are many different credit cards available on the market today, but there are two main ones that many experts have been recommending for Christmas shoppers depending on their needs and repayment habits. You should base your decision on which card is best suited to you on how and when you intend to repay the balance that you run up over Christmas.

Cash back and rewards based credit cards are ideal for Christmas shoppers that want to put all of their Christmas purchases on the plastic for convenience and ease, but intend to repay the balance in full following the festive season within the interest free period.

By making all of your Christmas purchases on your rewards based or cash back credit cards you can earn the maximum level of cash back or rewards, and by clearing the balance within the interest free period you will not be hit by expensive interest charges, and therefore you will actually gain from using the card.

There are a number of credit card providers that offer cash back and rewards based credit cards, and the level of cash back or rewards offered per pound spent can vary from card to card. You should therefore compare a number of cards to get the best deal in terms of returns.

A cash back or rewards based credit card is not suited to those that want to spread repayments on their Christmas expenditure, as any cash back or rewards earned will be counteracted by the interest that has to be paid on any outstanding balance once the interest free period has expired. For those that want to spread repayments on their Christmas spending a 0% purchase credit card may be the best option. With this type of credit card you can enjoy an extended period of interest free credit, which means that you can spread the repayments on your Christmas spending over a longer period without being hit by interest charges.

Again, these credit cards are available from a number of providers, and the interest free periods can vary from one card to another. You should therefore take the time to compare a number of cards from a variety of lenders in order to find the longest interest free period available.

Tom Smith
8th November 2007

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