In today's society, credit cards have become an important tool for personal financial management, providing cardholders with a variety of functions such as convenience for consumption, capital turnover, and accumulation of credit history. However, it is crucial to use credit cards correctly and prudently to avoid potential financial risks and personal credit damage. Here are nine key considerations that credit card users must pay attention to:
1.Choose your credit card wisely
Before applying for a credit card, be sure to compare and research the various credit cards in the market, including the issuing bank, the type of credit card (such as regular, gold, platinum, etc.), annual fee policy, point reward mechanism, and various promotions.
Choose the most suitable credit card product for you according to your spending habits, repayment ability and needs (e.g. overseas purchases, discounts at specific merchants, etc.).
2.Reasonable arrangement of consumption and repayment
When using a credit card, you should maintain a rational spending, avoid over-reliance and uncontrolled card swiping, and ensure that your monthly bill is within your affordability.
Repay in full and on time: Late repayment will not only incur high liquidated damages and interest, but also have a negative impact on one's credit history.
3.Keep your card information safe
The security of physical cards is extremely important to prevent them from being lost or stolen.
In terms of electronic security, do not disclose sensitive information such as credit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV codes at will, especially when shopping online, be sure to confirm the use of https encryption protocol and verify the authenticity and security of the company.
4.Handle ** payments with care
*When making a payment, try to choose a reputable merchant and platform with security measures in place, and avoid entering credit card information in an unsecured network environment.
Review your billing details regularly to identify and report any suspicious transactions in a timely manner.
5.Control how often you swipe your card and how much you can swipe
Avoid swiping cards too frequently and continuously in a short period of time, especially if the consumption behavior is large and the interval is short, which may cause the bank to be alert to risk control, resulting in the card being temporarily locked or the limit reduced.
Don't easily reach or even exceed your credit limit, so as not to trigger the overlimit fee and affect your personal credit score.
6.Understand installment terms
Before choosing to pay in installments, learn more about the relevant interest rate, handling fee, repayment amount and term of each instalment to assess the actual cost and economic justification.
Rationally plan for consumption in installments to avoid the accumulation of long-term liabilities due to over-reliance on instalments.
7.Maintain a good credit history
Maintaining a good credit card usage record and making on-time repayments is the basis for maintaining a credit rating, which is of great significance for future loan approval and better credit terms.
If you have a bad credit history, you should correct it as soon as possible and continue to perform good credit behavior, rather than blindly canceling your credit card.
8.Beware of arbitrage behavior
The bank strictly prohibits the use of credit cards for non-normal consumption purposes, such as cashing outRepeated large-value transactions at merchants in the same category, or frequent cash withdrawals in a short period of time, may be regarded as suspicious of cash-out, which may lead to bank risk control measures.
9.Comply with bank regulations
Comply with the bank's rules and regulations regarding the use of credit cards, such as not maliciously overdrafting, and not using the card to maintain a credit card (i.e., using the limit of one credit card to repay the debt of another credit card).
To sum up, in the process of using a credit card, we should pay equal attention to wisdom and self-discipline, and fully understand and follow the above precautions, so that the credit card can truly become a financial tool that facilitates life and improves the quality of life, rather than a source of financial distress.
9 key considerations for credit card use