These days, acquiring credit is not easy anymore. With borrowers struggling to pay their debts and repayments, lenders are starting to make it hard for anyone to borrow money. A lot of people now are much more interested in their credit status. In fact, Australians who are checking their credit file has more than doubled since last year and expected to increase further with as more people were denied credit.

Credit Cards

Here are some credit card tips that you can use to avoid the credit crunch.

• As much as possible, avoid getting cash advances on your credit cards. Most interest-free periods offered by credit cards do not apply to cash advances and in most cases, you will pay interest on that cash right from the time you withdraw it.

• Consider choosing a card that will match your requirements and ensure that the credit you will be choosing will be suitable on your spending pattern. If you think that you cannot pay the balance in full each month, and then consider a card that has a lower rate. If you are using your credit card for your daily purchases such as groceries and gas, look for cards that offer the longest interest free days and pay it full each month to get the benefit of up to 62 days interest free days on purchases.

• Check if you are qualified for “relationship” discounts that are available from credit unions and banks for those borrowers who consolidate a range of banking business with the one institution. Most commonly offered are interest rate discounts, home and personal loan, term deposit bonuses, savings account fee waivers and credit card annual fee waivers.

• Check if you are also qualified for annual fee waivers on your credit card. Most credit cards offer annual fee waiver if you have qualified for the minimum amount spent on your credit card each year. If you have spent large amount of money in your credit card in a year, you can even choose a credit card that provides you with all the benefits you need and at the same time avoid paying the annual fee.

• In choosing for a credit card, look at the overall ongoing cost of credit such as interest free period, annual fees and standard interest rate rather on the reward programs and insurance.

• Be also aware of ancillary card fees and penalties charged in using your credit card. Annual fees and interest charges are not only your concern, late payment on monthly statement, periodical payment refusal and exceeding credit limit are also things to worry about. There are also others that you need to consider such as issuance of secondary cards, replacement of lost cards, duplicate statements, cash advances and overseas ATM withdrawal. This will add up to your cost.