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Sunday, August 10, 2008

Free Credit Cards : Store Cards Vs Credit Cards

Free Credit Cards

Store cards are offered by numerous retailers nowadays in the UK and everybody has no doubt experienced walking into a shop and being offered a store card. Most of the stores will even offer you a discount on the items you are purchasing at the time just for filling in an application form.

The way a store card works is similar to a credit card as you use the card to buy items instead of cash and then you make repayments either monthly or in one go if you would prefer.

Of course there is a major difference between credit cards and store cards as store cards can only be used in certain shops and chains and this obviously limits your choice when making purchases. There is however, a plus side to be seen here, as this would mean that you wouldn't spend as much as much as perhaps you would do with a credit card.

There are however, other disadvantages with store cards such as the enormous amount of interest you have to pay if you choose to spread out your repayments on the card, as store card interest rates are even higher than credit card rates.

As well as these disadvantages, there are of course some benefits to these cards, such as; discounts at certain shops and on certain products there as well as a whole host of other perks on offer.

The only thing to do is to weigh up whether or not the limitations and high interest if you fail to clear your balance each month are worth the few benefits that you receive.

One thing to keep in mind is not to be pushed into getting a store card just so you get the discount at the point of sale or just so that you can get rid of the pushy sales assistant, especially if you've got a bad credit history because you get refused for the store card and end up damaging your credit history even more.

If you are looking for plenty of choice in the types of cards that you can get and also where you can use the cads then a credit card may be more ideal for you. Nowadays, the majority of places accept credit cards both here and overseas.

You can make sure that the card is suited to your spending and repayment needs. There are also interest free credit cards available so you could even avoid paying interest altogether, just as long as you pay back the debt within the allocated time, otherwise, you will find yourself paying high interest rates.

Of course there is a major difference between credit cards and store cards.

Store card interest rates are even higher than credit card rates.

There are also interest free credit cards available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gill_Critchley

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