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“Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Wine” How many times have you heard this so far and its only November? A few I’ll bet, but with Christmas seemingly becoming earlier to us each year, we will no doubt feel the need to get ahead with our present and food buying. This though only leads to us spending more than we should. This is because with the shops full of decorations and Christmas tunes, the stores are dictating to us that we have to buy our gifts now, which will mean by the time December has come and gone. We would have spent more over the 2-month period that the shops have been full of Christmas cheer.

This is not all bah! Humbug.

Personally for the occasion alone and seeing the kids faces when they open their presents on Christmas morning, as Christmas is a special time of year that for the day makes all the preparation and spending all worth while.

But that doesn’t mean that it comes without cost and in some cases more of a cost than folk can ill afford. For all of its pomp and occasion, Christmas can come at a heavy price to bear for a lot of people who, rather than let their children and family down, will turn to the promise of riches that credit cards and store cards offer.

Don’t get me wrong, credit cards and even store cards, have their uses. This is only true though, if you only use them to your advantage, to get the best out of them. If you are thinking of taking one or the other, then the only suggestion that I can make is to plump for the credit card, over the store card.

We all want to enjoy this time of year, so by getting all that you want to do this and in doing so, save cash and not to fall heavily into debt, will make the festivities all the more enjoyable. So by giving you a few advantages and disadvantages, which credit cards and store cards entail, will hopefully go a long way on helping you make the right decisions.

Firstly the advantages of credit cards:

• More favourable interest rates than a store card.
• Many offers on the market, which are giving you an interest free period.
• Some come with money back schemes that give you a percentage of your expenditure back to you. (Usually between 0.5%- 2%)
• Will protect your gifts, as soon as you have bought them.
• Lets you buy now and pay at a later date, only on what you have spent without incurring any interest charges.

Now the disadvantages:

• Can lead you to spend more than you can afford to pay back, which in turn will lead to the interest being charged to your account.
• They can come with a heavy hit in the pocket, with charges for late payments and going over your credit limit.

Advantages of the store card:

• Can use them as soon as you are accepted for the card.
• Initial discount (normally 10% off you first purchase) will give you a saving straight away.

Disadvantages:

• Overly high interest rates, which are well above those of a credit card. Some can be as much as 30%.
• Can lead you quickly to debt, if they are not cleared at the end of each month.
• Sold to the customer, by assistants who know absolutely nothing about what they are selling.

Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb.co.uk. For additional articles and an extensive resource for everything about credit cards, please visit us at http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk and http://www.creditcards2go4.com For credit card advice please visit here http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/creditcardadvice.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Kenny

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Yes, low APR credit cards are on the rise. Many credit cards are competing for your business to give you the best and lowest rates available today. There are so many credit cards from you to choose from that they are doing all kinds of things to get your attention including lowering their interest rate and giving you no annual fees.

Why is this happening? Because there are so many credit card companies. They all want your business and this is an attractive incentive to get you to apply and own one of their credit cards. If you choose a low APR credit card over one with 19.99 percent you are sure to go with the lower APR.

The only problem is that sometime these 0% and low APR credit cards are only promotional ways to get you to apply and then later your interest rate will rise. Many credit card companies have low APR credit cards for a certain amount of time such as 3 months, 6 months and some up to one year. You will have to compare to find out which one keeps the lower APR after the promotional period to ensure you are getting the best deal around.

No matter what the reason low APR credit cards are here to stay as long as the companies are competing for your business. Just remember to compare everything they offer besides the lower interest rate. You may find that several credit card companies are now offering other wonderful incentives for you to apply with them such as reward programs.

No matter which company you choose, you will enjoy the low APR credit cards even if it is only for a limited time. You will be able to save money on your purchases because you will not have to pay any interest until the promotional period is over. Just be sure your balance is very low when the interest rate kicks in and you will be fine.