While it may give you a temporary headache, reading the fine print on credit card offers does pay off. Consumer Reports [1] composed research to narrow down the best credit cards available, and in the process it found a few so bad it had to warn us to stay away in its October issue. Here are the three cards they say are the pits; if you come across other cards with similar terms, steer clear.
- First Premier Bank Card: Its 9.9 fixed APR is fine, but the card comes with first-year fees up to $276! There's a $29 account-setup fee, a $95 program fee, $48 annual fee, a $7 monthly servicing fee, and sometimes a $20 additional annual fee.
- American Dream Card from HSBC: Each time you charge something you're entered into a lottery for prizes up to $25,000 and you'll be prompted to fill out surveys for chances to win additional prizes. The card comes with a 15 to 22 percent APR.
- New Millennium Visa or MasterCard: There's a $59 annual fee, $100 processing fee, a 19.5 percent APR, and no grace period [2] before your balance begins incurring interest.
Source [3]