I found an article which does a good job of dissecting the traps hidden in Credit Card Terms.

This article isn’t some rant about how they all are crooks, blah blah blah…they actually go into detail about all the trickery and show screenshots that highlight just which part of the “offer” is responsible for biting you on the butt when the bills come.

I’ve had cards for years, and still I wasn’t aware of some of the worst traps. For instance, take the term “fixed APR.” You’d think that it’d work like a mortgage, right? WRONG! It just means that it doen’t follow an index. The credit card company can actually change the APR–they just have to warn you first! It’s like the difference between doing something manually as opposed to automatically.

Unbelievable? Believe it. They have pictures of the Agreement.

Membership fees are blasted, too. Did you know there’s a place that charges $2500 a year just to carry their “Black” card?! Even though the article doesn’t say so, I bet it’s American Express. That’s the place that has a Black card for 6-figure spenders…and members egotistical enough to cough up that kind of a membership fee!

If you’re sick of playing credit-card roulette, consider credit counseling from CareOneCredit. Care One’s the company who wrote the article. Looks like they’re up on the tricks!