You’ve received so many credit card offers in the mail you don’t know what to do; it seems as if you could have thirty different cards if you wanted to! How do you decide which card is best for you? Hopefully we can help you find the answer to that question.

First of all, if you qualify for unsecured, major credit cards, these are the best credit cards to own. A secured credit card is anchored by a means of collateral – usually in the form of a cash down payment – that acts as a line of credit for the credit card. An unsecured credit card does not require any sort of down payment or collateral. The majority of credit cards in circulation today are unsecured credit cards.

Department store cards are fine, but for the purpose of building a good credit history, it’s important to have at least one major credit card. A major credit card is one with a recognizable name – like MasterCard, Visa, Discover or American Express. Big name cards such as these carry weight with them – and are essential building blocks for your solid credit foundation.

Even among those major credit cards you’ll find all kinds of variations – platinum cards, zero percent interest cards, low interest cards, etc. Include below are some questions to ask yourself as you go through your collection of credit card offers (we suggest you keep the card offers mailed to you and compare them, plus research more offers online before you sign with any particular one.)

• How much credit does this card offer? Compare the credit limit to the other card or cards you own. It’s advantageous to have higher credit limits and only use fifty percent or less of the credit available in each card. Creditors get concerned if you come even close to maxing out any of your credit card limits, as it makes you look like a high-risk borrower who uses every bit of credit available to you.
• What fees are charged? Annual fees? Fees for transferring balances? How much are late fees?
• Is the interest rate fixed or does it change after a short “teaser” period? If you choose to use a credit card offering a short term zero percent or low interest rate, make sure you take note of the length of the teaser time period and how much the interest rate increases at the end of that teaser period. If you are want to use the teaser time period, are you going to have a way to either zero out the card before the rate increases or have an alternate card to transfer the balance when the rate increases? Are there fees attached to that balance transfer?

Whatever major credit card you choose, resolve to always make payments on time and watch how much you charge. Establishing yourself as a low risk borrower will preserve your credit rating and open you up to even better credit offers in the future.