what's the best credit card for you?

A credit card is a credit card, right? Not quite. While they all enable you to buy goods and services without forking out any hard cash for up to 55 days, they vary in annual cost, interest rate charged and rewards offered. To figure out which card best suits your needs, ask yourself a few questions:

How often will you use your card?

Are you a believer in cash is king? Or will you put everything on your card, right down to your car parking fees? If you want the benefits of a great credit card that you don’t have to pay for, and want the peace of mind that comes with having one, you may prefer a card with no annual fee. However if you will use a card for most of your spending, you can turn your purchases into vouchers, gifts and travel with a card that has a rewards program.

How much of the balance will you pay off each month?

It pays to answer this question as truthfully as possible. If your mantra is ‘minimum monthly payment’ you can save yourself some serious dollars (and stress) by choosing a card with a low ongoing interest rate. If you plan to pay your card off in full each month, interest rates are less of an issue and you might want to investigate cards with other benefits like no annual fee or a rewards program.

Do you currently owe money on other credit cards?

One way to reduce your outstanding credit card balance is to transfer it to a new card with a lower rate. Depending on your current card, you could be paying a high rate of interest and only ever paying off the minimum amount each month. But by transferring your outstanding balance over to a new Bankwest credit card, you’ll benefit from a reduced interest rate on balance transfers, which gives you the chance to make a dent in that outstanding balance.

Do you travel regularly?

If you travel a lot it’s worth seeing if you qualify for a Gold or Platinum card as these come with varying levels of free travel and accident insurance.