Credit Cards : Boon or Bane for Consumers?

There are different types of features in credit cards available to the customers. Some of the credit cards suit the customer’s financial situation better than others. The hard part is finding the feature that suits a customer and won’t be a burden for him in the future. Some of the features found in the credit cards are Business, Balance Transfer, Cashback, Frequent Flyer, Gold & Platinum, Low Annual Fee, Low Interest, No Annual Fee, Purchases, Rewards, and Student.
Customers who are using credit cards should make sure that they follow the guidelines provided by the banks properly. Some of the things that the customers should make sure while using the credit card balance transfer feature are mentioned here. We should make our payments on time because if we skip or miss the due date we have to pay very heavy fines or high interests. These kinds of accounts will give an introductory low or no rate period which is usually three, six, nine or twelve months. To make better use of these kinds of accounts we have to make sure when the introductory rate ends and should try to pay off majority of our debts during this period. Never use these credit cards for cash advances. These credit cards are really very helpful to pay off large amounts of accumulated debt. These cards are not good for withdrawing cash or making purchases because they always attract a higher rate of interest and it may increase our debts. So always pay attention to what the banks are advertising and do some research online to know more details about the offers. If we use the credit card balance transfers feature properly, it is the best way to reduce our debts.
Now about the No Annual Fee feature, usually there are two types of No Annual Fee credit card, one is the cards that have no annual fees till the expiry date and the second one is the card that offer the first year free as part of an introductory offer. Sometimes we need to pay membership fee for these types of cards because that card may have some add-on privileges. So it is really important to read the documents before applying so that we don’t run into any unexpected problems in the future. Usually the No Annual Fee cards are very basic cards that are not suitable for cash advances, balance transfers, and usually don’t have a rewards programme. They have higher interest rates and are therefore is more suitable for people who pay off their balance each month within the interest free days. If the customers are able to do this, they can avoid paying the credit card companies any fees or interest charges.
Next is the Low Interest, the banks charge a very low interest rates from the customers but there will be some limit on the amount of money they can spend or use for paying debts and so on. These low interest cards will not be having any interesting value added features.
Next one is the Rewards, for the customers that use their credit cards often get some value added feature free of cost like discount while booking train or flight tickets, lower interest rate or lower interest period and so on.

The Silent Consumer

The silent consumer is an irony but nonetheless very much true. This is advocated by the fact that the consumers are silent. Practically, something that is impossible has found its way into the lives of the people. The rates of daily groceries and basic amenities have doubled up in the past 4-5 years. Is this not a cause for concern? The rates of inflation are going up and not one of the fancy ‘Netas’ seems to be putting in any effort towards sorting this mess.This is a country, where in the past the average consumer would have hit the streets in order to protest the rising prices. There have been a number of successful movements in the past which helped fight the price rises and these movements were not choreographed by some political party or a religious group but by the people who consume these goods. The customers of the various products were the people who fought against and spearheaded these movements against price hikes and galloping inflation rates.In the country’s history there was one instance in which a one paisa hike in tram fares was protested by the people. That was an age when there were more farmer strikes and lesser farmer suicides, and better consumer protection. The difference in these facts is evident. The consumers have gone silent. Too chicken hearted to fight for their rights, and this attitude is in no way helpful.The middle class who used to lead these protests now does not care much about spending time and energy into orchestrating strikes and movements; rather they have found another means of taking care of the so called price hikes. The usage of credit cards has gone up considerably; there is only one answer to this. The consumers are resorting to purchasing with credit cards. There is no dearth of money as the credit cards are being used to take care of the situation “for the moment”.Drivers, small time truck owners are the most affected due to the hike in fuel prices. A number of people in the lower strata are bearing the brunt of the rising prices. The so called political leaders seem to be scheming to look for the perfect time to raise the prices so that by providing some kind of reassurance to the people they can gain political mileage. The consumers do not stand a chance in this situation. Fighting with silence is not fighting but asad reminder that the people cannot stand up for their own consumer rights.. The usage of credit cards will eventually catch up with the people and will end up strangling them harder than ever as the interest rates will rise too.Houses, school education, LPG, rice and pulses are among the other commodities whose prices have gone up. The average school fees has also doubled in the past five years. With the salaries of the people remaining standard and the rising prices, there is only one thing left to do before the consumers are fully pushed over the edge, and that is to fight back.