Just like anything in the Financial Industry Credit Cards use a good amount of jargon. Nobody can be expected to understand all these technical jargon, and of them are very important. This is your quick guide on understanding these terms for future reference. Do not worry we will make everything clear and you can get a good idea of what everything means when getting a new credit card. Once you get to know these terms you will be able to have the right information when getting a credit card you can live with.

If you have a lot of money and want to donate it to your favorite charity then the Affinity card is for you. The Affinity Card is a credit card that gives a certain portion to a charity of your choice, the amount the charity gets depends on how much you spend. I think its best to avoid any charity that tries to sign you up for such a card. Do not feel guilty and find yourself with a high interest credit card. You can give always make a donation to your favorite charity when ever and you want and not give it to the credit card company. Affinity sounds cool for a credit card but you would be a fool to get one.

APR. Is your Annual Percentage Rate. This is your total interest rate, calculated every year, and is given to you as percentage of your balance. This is a good number to know when considering what card to sign up for. The higher the overall interest rate the more likely you will not want any thing to do with this credit card. Next time you see APR make a mental note and compare this to your other credit card offers. Once you get the APR rate you want be sure to cut any credit cards that do no meet with these new standards you have established. After paying card on time for several months keep trying for a better rate, it never hurts to ask.

ATM.Is your Automated Teller Machine. A money machine. It will give you cash when you put your credit card in the machine, and will probably charge an extra fee. If the ATM machine does not belong to your bank you might have to pay a fee to owner of the machine and your bank or credit card company. If you plan on purchasing something from a store you can avoid getting credit card fees by getting cash back from your purchase. This of course only works with a debit card and not a credit card.

A balance transfer is simply shifting your debt from one credit card to another. The main reason to do this is to move your debt to a lower interest rate credit card. Another reason is to not have to much debt on one credit card which might hurt your credit having a high balance on any card. One problem with this is you might find your self with too many credit cards and some people cannot control them self and max out all their cards.

The credit limit is the amount that the Credit Card company feels you are worthy of getting a loan on. Its the maximum amount that the Credit Card company will let you spend of their money. If you go over your credit limit your card could get denied and you will get some hefty fees. Its easy to go over your credit limit because Credit Card companies know that they will make a bundle letting you do so. Try never charge that much in the first place because you could be paying for a long time

The fixed rate on your credit card is supposed to say the same and never change but we all know that the fixed rate can be change by the credit card company any time making in not really fixed. When you get a loan it says fixed until the loan is paid off, but Credit Card Companies can and do change rates when ever they feel it necessary. Then Credit Card company needs not reason they have it written it to the terms allowing them do so with as little as two weeks notice. So always make sure your rate does not change and if it does change, then its time to get a new Credit Card Company.

Most credit cards that I have owned have a Grace Period of 25 to 28 days witch means that I have 25 or 28 days to pay my credit card balance with out getting any interest charges. You have to pay it early or within the 28 days or you will be charged Interest. Some cards have up to two months and some don't have a Grace Period at all. This is an important thing to consider when choosing your new credit Card. Now you understand most of the Jargon on Credit Card Lingo and I hope this helps you when getting your New Credit Card.

This is usually a very small amount compared to the Debt of your Credit Card. Its usually about two percent of your balance but can be as low a just one percent. The Credit Card Company really loves you when you pay the minimum payment because then you get to pay them for a long time. if they had it their way you would pay them minimum for the rest of your life. Do not get scammed here pay as much as possible even the entire balance and avoid interest completely.

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If you have bad Credit this is the term the financial Industry uses to describe you when you get your credit card. Sub-prime is the rate given to the people with bad credit but they still trust you enough to give their money at a very high interest rate. You might have to get a secured loan to get this credit and they know you will pay or they win anyway because they will still get paid. If you need a Master Card or Visa you can always get your self a prepaid debit card.

This is a trick or special offer that is written in Big letters to offer you a great rate like 3.9% for the first 6 months and then followed by small print about the 23.9% rate you will pay for the rest of the life of the credit card. Just think you buy lots of stuff at 3.9% and if you don't pay your balance off you then have to pay a outrageous rate of 23.9%. A great scam by the Credit Card companies. Some people get this and transfer there debt to the card in hopes of paying it off soon. But the Credit Card companies always win.

This is the most dangerous type of credit card on the market. Your rate changes by national interest rates. When you get the Credit Card the rates can be very low but any change in the National Interest rate you could be paying some very high rates. It might be a low rate at times but most of the time you will pay some really high rates. Who wants to take a chance on that the timing might not be to your advantage. I would try to get a good low interest fix rate and avoid the variable rate card.