Two Types of Fine Print You’ll Find in Credit Card Offers
When you get advice on comparing or choosing a credit card, you’ll often hear the following:
“Read the fine print.”
You hear that advice frequently because it’s good advice. The fine print is where the details of an offer are usually presented, while the marketing copy only emphasizes parts of the deal that make a credit card look good (to make you want to apply). But do you really know what “read the fine print” means? Where is that fine print? Did you know there are actually two kinds of credit card offer fine print you should be concerned with?
Let’s take a look at the two types of credit card offer fine print you should review before applying for your next credit card offer.
Credit Card Fine Print: Advertised Offers
You can usually find some fine print right in a credit card offer or advertisement itself. This is true both for online offers and credit card ads you might find in print. You can usually find this in smaller type below the advertised features.
This fine print is there to further explain specific elements of the advertised offer. For example, the Citibank Clear Platinum credit card currently advertises 0% interest for six months on balance transfers. That’s designed to attract you to the card. But to find out more about what that offer really means you would look at the fine print below.
There you find that transferred balances will be repaid first, and after six months any remaining transferred balance will revert to the high cash advance rate of 21.74%. That’s good information to know if you don’t think you can pay the entire balance in six months.
Credit Card Fine Print: Terms and Conditions
The problem is that sometimes people look at the offer fine print and stop there. But there is an even more important set of fine print you should review — the terms and conditions for the credit card.
These are the full details. They include all terms you agree to by applying for the credit card, and they’ll include everything from late fees to reward programme limits to currency conversion charges if you use your card overseas.
You usually have to look a bit harder to find a credit card offer’s full terms and conditions before applying. Some companies offer them on their website and they’re easy to find. With others, you might only find a link in their online application, or you might call them to get a copy. While most consumers don’t do this, it’s always a good idea. Then you’ll have no surprises down the road.
The next time you’re thinking about comparing credit cards and someone tells you to “read the fine print” first, now you know what that really means. The fine print doesn’t stop with the credit card offer itself. Get to know a credit card’s terms and conditions in full if you really want to be an educated consumer.
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- What To Do When Credit Card Offers Get Confusing
- 5 Credit Card Fees You Can Avoid
- The Balance Transfer Blues (and How to Overcome Balance Transfer Mistakes)
- 4 Important Terms to Look For in the Fine Print
- Balance transfer fees
