How to choose a credit card and understand the terms before applying

Before buying equipment, a person opens the credit card page and sees how much money he can spend. Before you issue a Tinkoff card or choose another offer, he compares the future purchase with the money that will remain after the mandatory expenses. One available limit for such a solution is not enough.

To calculate, you need an amount that a person can return from his own money, rather than borrowing again for everyday expenses.

Imagine a customer who needs to replace a broken refrigerator. In the kitchen there is already a leaf with the size of a niche, a suitable option has been found in the store, and salary is expected later. In this situation, the question of the card does not begin with bonuses. The buyer records the cost of the refrigerator and immediate expenses: housing, groceries, road, already scheduled payments. Then see how much is left to repay the debt. If the calculation converges only on the condition of a premium that has not yet been confirmed, this condition remains a separate line. It doesn’t turn into money because you want to finish your purchase today.

What conditions to compare before filling out the application

A credit card is compared on the terms of a refund, not just the amount of the limit. The Bank of Russia recommends paying attention to additional commissions and payments, the cost of related services and the consequences of breach of contract. The full cost of the loan (PUC) helps to estimate the contractual costs. For personal comparison, the buyer makes the same scenario for each offer: the same purchase, the estimated payment date, the available refund amount. In the next column, it notes the service and selected paid services. He does not need to guess future expenses to the last ruble. The task is more modest: to see what costs will arise in his scenario and what conditions remain unclear. A beautiful description of the map and the answers to these questions can be found in different documents.

How to understand the grace period and payments

A long grace period alone does not explain when to return money for a particular purchase. The memo of Rospotrebnadzor shows that when calculating from the beginning of the reporting period, the actual period depends on the date of the operation; there is also a mandatory monthly payment. Therefore, the buyer is not looking for one large number, but the order of calculation. What event does the deadline start from? What purchases are included? What amount is required and by what date? After all, the inscription “without interest” leaves open the question of the actions of the cardholder. A few specific questions are sufficient to verify conditions.

What to find out about money back:

The mandatory payment and the amount for fulfilling the conditions of the grace period are checked separately. The coincidence of these amounts cannot be assumed without reading the contract.

Why Payment Method Changes Cost Calculation

Buying in-store, withdrawing cash, and transferring money require a separate check of the terms and conditions. Rospotrebnadzor warns that in many banks the grace period does not apply to cash withdrawals and transfers to other accounts. This is not a characteristic of each card, but a reason to open the corresponding tariff section. The buyer can check the intended payment method even before placing the order: whether the usual payment by card or the seller offers a transfer. If the method changes at the last minute, the previous calculation is postponed. The absence of commission and the absence of interest are also checked separately: these are different questions to the terms of the transaction.

Imagine that at the checkout, the seller asks to transfer money by phone number. The buyer holds the phone above the terminal, then lowers his hand and returns to the card terms. The product remained the same, but the action with the money changed. Here there is a pause, which is difficult to foresee from the photo of the product. It is necessary to clarify how the bank takes into account this transfer. The name of the store does not answer that question.

What to check in the documents and after the first purchase

Before confirming the application, the person re-reads the selected services and related costs. The Bank of Russia separately recommends to clarify the obligation and cost of additional services, as well as the conditions for early refund. In the working record are not general promises, but the names of documents and items on which the calculation is based. Conditions are retained along with the date of inspection. If a service appears during registration, which was not in the original comparison, its cost is considered again. However, a long document is not necessarily read continuously from the first line to the last. First find the sections related to the purchase, then check the associated definitions and exceptions.