Example Of Comparison Of Credit Cards Essay
For the purpose of this essay, I chose the following credit cards offered online: (i) Quicksilver from Capital One; (ii) Discover Credit Card; and (iii) Chase Freedom Card.
When a potential borrower is looking for a credit card that should meet his requirements in the best way, it is important to analyze such figures of the credit cards as an annual percentage rage (APR), annual fee, late payment, transaction, cash withdrawal and balance transfer fees, as well as a duration of the grace period and additional benefits.
Nowadays, it is common for a credit card agreement to provide for several kinds of APRs. For instance, Quicksilver from Capital One envisages a regular APR on purchases in the amount of 12.9% – 22.9% and a promo APR on purchases of 0% during the year of 2015 (Capital One). Moreover, Capital One sets an APR on balance transfer, on cash advance and due to the late payment of 12.9% – 22.9%, 24.9% and 29.4% respectively.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. establishes a promo APR on purchases for its Chase Freedom Card for a 15-month period following the account opening date (JPMorgan Chase & Co.). Yet a regular APR on purchases is the highest among three chosen credit cards and equals to 13.99% – 22.99%. In terms of an APR on balance transfer, on cash withdrawal and due to the late payment, it amounts to 13.99% – 22.99%, 23.99% and 29.99% correspondingly.
All three credit cards do not have an annual fee and charge a late payment fee in the amount of up to USD 35. Nevertheless, Discover Credit Card does not charge the late payment fee if it is the borrower’s first time when he pays the necessary amount late.
Moreover, all three analyzed credit cards charge a transaction fee of 3% (but no less than USD 5) for the balance transfer. In terms of a transaction fee for each withdrawal, the fee equals to 3% (but no less than USD 10) for Quicksilver from Capital One and 5% (but no less than USD 10) for Discover Credit Card and Chase Freedom Card.
In addition, only the Chase Freedom Card charges a 3%-fee for foreign transactions and provides for the shortest grace period of 51 days. To the contrary, Capital One and JPMorgan Chase & Co. provide their customers with an opportunity to pay off the total amount of the loan with no interest for a 55-day period. It is important to mention that neither card envisages a grace period for credit card debt arising out from cash withdrawals.
All analyzed credit cards provide cash back options to the borrowers in the amount of 1% for every purchase. These bonuses do not expire and might be used by the borrower at any time. Furthermore, Quicksilver from Capital One and Chase Freedom Card do not charge any fee on overdrafts.
In my opinion, Discover Credit Card is the most interesting for me among the analyzed credit cards taking into account my personal financial needs. Thus, this credit card provides the lowest regular ARP on purchases and 0%-APR on purchases for the first 14 months of the card use.
Another crucial factor that affects my decision is that Discover Credit Card does not charge any late payment fee for the first time of the untimely payment. Moreover, I can pay with this credit card abroad and no commission is to be charged by the bank.
Works Cited
Capital One. “Quicksilver from Capital One”. Capitalone.com. Capital One, 2015. Web. 15 March 2015. <http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver>.
Discover Bank. “Discover it cash back”. Discover.com. Discover Bank, 2015. Web. 15 March 2015. <https://www.discover.com/credit-cards>.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Chase freedom card”. Creditcards.chase.com. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2015. Web. 15 March 2015. <https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-freedom1.aspx?F42G=Y71UH0&I39J=FH24R8&iCELL=63KC&list=4,2,1&SP4R=Y71UH0>.
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