Credit card terms can be harsh; read your agreement

Credit cards are usually more secure than using cash, they offer an effortless way to buy things on the Web, and they allow buyers to buy things for which they do not immediately have cash available. In today's economic climate, having at least one bank card is important; you cannot, for example, obtain a rental car without one. The typical American household carries nineteen different credit and debit cards.

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The credit card business is a successful one, and you can effortlessly add to their profits by failing to examine the details that accompanies your bill each month. Be careful when you use your credit card, or your fees and interest rate could rise substantially.

The credit card companies are quick to point out their reasonable features. Many bank card accounts provide such features as a "permanent" low rate, or a "free" balance transfer from other cards, or how easy it can be to apply for a cash advance, or the "zero percent" teaser rate offered to new customers.

If you are not careful, a credit card can be an expensive financing tool. What the charge card issuers do not often mention is the numerous charges that could wind up on your statement if you do not read the terms carefully.

Here are a few things you may not know about that could be useful to know:

• There is no grace period for cash advances. Rates on cash loans accrues starting the minute you take the cash out of the teller machine. Your are free to use your charge card to get money from an automatic teller machine, but a fee will apply, as will a rate of interest that will be somewhat higher than for purchases.
• Be cautious when transferring balances to another bank card; it might cost you hundreds of dollars. There may be a fee for a balance transfer, and it may be regarded as a cash loan, which comes with higher charges and rates of interest than purchases do. While charge card issuers like to advertise their balance transfer abilities, do not make the assumption that moving the five thousand dollar balance over from one of your other charge cards will cost nothing. If a balance transfer is treated as a cash loan, you won't have a grace period.
• There is no such thing as a "permanent" rate, regardless of what your company may claim. If they decide to keep your interest rate low for a long time, be grateful. A "permanent" interest rate is permanent only until such time as the issuer decides that they want to increase your rate, at which point "permanent" becomes short term. The cardmember agreement on your bill typically states that the company may raise your rate at any time, for any reason at all, provided that they provide you fifteen days notice.
• Late fees will apply if your bill comes in late, even if your payment comes in on the due date. Late fees add up, and are often as much as $39. If your bill says that the bill is due at 11 AM, Eastern time, then it is regarded as late if it arrives after that time, even if it shows up later that day. A late payment means even one minute after the specific time of day the bills are declared to be due.

Be careful when using your plastic; it could cost you more than you bargained for. These are just a couple of the things one has to be on the lookout for when using a major account.