Should You Opt For A Store Or Credit Card?

This year has been very difficult for most households in terms of their finances, and this has resulted in more and more people turning to credit to get them through. It is likely that with Christmas around the corner an increasing number of people will be using some form of credit to pay for purchases made over the festive season this year.Many people tend to use plastic such as store cards and credit cards to fund the cost of Christmas purchases over the festive season and bargains in the New Year sales.If you do plan to use plastic to pay for your Christmas and New Year purchases this year it is vital that you determine whether the store card or the credit card is going to be best suited by finding out a little more about each.

When deciding whether to go for a credit or store card you should bear in mind that most industry officials favour credit cards over store cards, and there are a number of reasons for this.There are a number of benefits to using credit cards over store cards, but you need to ensure that you are using the right credit card otherwise you may not get the full benefits.

Most retailers spend time pushing store cards at this time of year, as they know that customers will be looking for ways to pay for Christmas goods, and these stores make a fortune off these store cards.Customers that use store cards will be subjected to a very high rate of interest, and this means that if you spread the repayments on your card balance you will end up paying a fortune in interest, which means that you will have paid way over the odds for the purchases that you make.

You will find that many retailers will offer various incentives such as discounts when they try to get you to sign up for a store card, but you need to bear in mind that you will end up paying far more than this in interest, which means the discount is worthless.Another downside to store cards is that you are restricted with regards to where you can use them, as they can only be used at a certain retailer or chain.

When it comes to credit cards many people find themselves falling into high levels of debt through the use of these cards, and some cards charge high rates of interest, although not as high as most store cards. What you can do, however, is opt for a 0% purchase card, where you can spread your repayments over a longer period and still not have to pay any interest.You will also find that using a credit card is far less restrictive than using a store card, as you can use the card anywhere that accepts credit cards instead of having to purchase goods from a particular retailer as you would with a store card.It may also be worth considering a rewards based credit card or a cash back card if you are going to be repaying your balance in full within the interest free period.