Are Variable Rate Credit Cards Better?

By Steve Szasz

When you shop for a credit card, you will be considering variable rate credit cards and fixed rate credit cards. A variable rate credit card uses the prime lending rate as its benchmark. Each lender then adds his own interest percentage and offers the variable rate credit card to his customer. Look at it this way – as soon as there is an increase in the interest rates of the Federal Reserve, the bank rates also go up.

The best situation to go in for a credit card with variable rates is when you notice that the prime lending rate dips steadily. That is when variable rate credit cards are a good option, since you enjoy the benefit of low lending rates.

However, don’t confuse the interest rate of variable rate credit cards with introductory offers made to you. These offers are only to attract you and expire after a specific period, say two months or four months. Subsequent to this, your variable rate credit card will attract a higher rate of interest. So don’t make these special offers a basis for your decision while looking for a credit card with variable rates.

Factors that could influence the interest rate of your credit card

When you are looking for a credit card with variable rates, your personal credit score and rating as well as your current income will influence the lenders’ decision. Accordingly you can look at standard cards, silver cards, gold cards, platinum cards and titanium cards – with the hierarchy of the card ascending from standard to titanium. So your eligibility for any of these variable rate credit cards is directly related to how good your credit history is, since interest rates are highest for standard cards and lowest for titanium cards.

In a variable rate credit card, the interest rate is likely to fluctuate periodically. Some credit card issuers can tell you how low or how high the interest rates are likely to vary so that you can decide upon your variable rate credit card based on this. If this fluctuation is still advantageous to you, as compared to a fixed rate credit card, you may consider a variable rate credit card.

No credit card is immune to interest rate fluctuation. Since variable rate credit card interest rates are based on the prevailing market rates, you’ve got to watch out constantly to see if it is a good option for you; if not you may want to look for another variable rate credit card where the issuer gives you a better deal. It is a very competitive market out there.

Steve Szasz is a publisher of numerous finance related articles and webmaster of 6 finance themed websites on loans, insurance and investment. His website url is called Credit Card Company