Recently I took a flight to visit my kids back in Michigan. In the middle of the flight the flight attendant made the announcement that if we signed up for their special credit card offer we would be receive a free round-trip ticket and double miles any time we used the card to book flights with the card.
Since moving to Florida last year I've made quite a few trips back to Michigan to visit family so I decided I would give the offer a try and asked for an application as the flight attendant made her rounds down the aisle. As I looked around to the others that also took the application I could see only one thing - they all were quickly filling out the application without bothering to read the "fine print."
I decided to take a little extra time to read all that print...and I mean ALL of it - 3 pages in small type to be exact. To get the "free flight" you had to charge at least $500 in the first 3 months, the interest rate topped out at nearly 20%, the cash advance interest rate was more than 26%, the balance transfer fee was 3% of EACH transfer and if you happened to be late on a payment your rate jumped up to nearly 28%...and stayed there for at least 6 months.
So what is that "free" ticket REALLY costing us?
When choosing a credit card, everyone should take the time to read the fine print and be aware of penalty fees and interest rate increases. Although laws have been created to protect consumer from unfair practices, there still are a lot of options to take into consideration before signing your name on the dotted line.
Just remember if something sounds too good to be true...it usually is!
^Amy
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your interest and comments!