Store cards - good or bad?

There has been loads of talk recently about store cards in the press. The concern is about the high interest rates charged and the amount of debt that people are building up.

Basically put, a store card is a credit card that only allows you to spend in certain shops. If you qualify for a store card, you should be able to get a credit card instead. Chances are, you will get better rates and they are more flexible.

Store cards are sold in store with the incentive of a discount off your first transaction. The amount of interest charged only makes this worthwhile if you are going to pay off the full balance straight away and not incur and interest payments.

If you are confident that you will be able to pay off the store card balance in full straight away, then why not take it out, get your initial discount, pay off the card and then close your account.

If you need the store card because you do not have the money available to pay for yur goods, then think about the alternatives.

The first thing to consider is whether you really need the goods you are purchasing. If you don't really need them, does paying interest on the credit (and therefore paying more for the goods in the long run) make sense?

If you do need the goods and don't have the funds available, consider other credit options. There are plenty of credit cards out there that are far more attractive than store cards such as cash back credit cards, 0% interest credit cards, rewards cards, etc.

In order to see what credit cards are available on the market, compare credit cards at www.switchwise.com.