4 things to look for on your credit card statement

1. Credit card debt

You may take out a credit card with the best of intentions – perhaps to maximise credit card rewards points – but the reality is that many of us don’t pay off our credit card in full each month. That means that we’re paying interest on the debt.

Keep an eye on your credit card balance. If you find that it’s creeping higher each month, take action quickly to rein in your spending and look at ways to tackle the debt.

2. Your interest rate

If you have ongoing credit card debt, make sure you check your interest rate regularly. You can use Canstar’s database to compare credit cards to find an interest rate that will work for you.

You might also consider a credit card balance transfer, a form of transferring your existing credit card debt to a new credit card with a lower interest rate for a certain period of time.  There are plenty of balance transfer options available to compare on Canstar’s database.

3. Annual fees

Whether you owe a debt or not, you’ll still need to pay the annual fee (if your card has one). The credit cards on Canstar’s database have annual fees ranging from $0 to $390.

4. Interest-free days

Cards may have a maximum number of days from the date of purchase until payment is due, called interest-free days.

If you don’t have an ongoing debt, interest-free days can be useful. However, keep in mind that to get the maximum number of interest-free days, you would need to make a purchase on the first day of your statement period.

Compare credit cards with Canstar