I recently had to contact my credit card issuer’s customer service department to inquire about the expiration date on the promotional 0% APR period tied to one of my credit cards.
After I received my answer, the rep asked if I had anymore questions or needed anything else.
I quickly said no, and just as I was about to hang up, the rep told me about a balance transfer offer that was available to me.
Not surprisingly, the offer was something like 3.99% for 12 months with a maximum balance transfer fee of $75.
Clearly I wasn’t interested in that deal, as there are plenty of better deals such as 0% APR credit cards that would save me a lot more money.
But just out of curiosity, I asked what else was available and heard a series of similar, typically mediocre offers.
In fact, not one offer had 0% APR or a no fee balance transfer, prompting me to quickly decline all the offers and end the call.
To get to the point of the story, it’s best to compare credit card offers online instead of just jumping into the one offered by a customer service representative, especially when their offers tend to be worse than the typical deals available.
Not only that, but many of these reps aren’t pushing what’s best for your situation, but rather what’s best for the card issuer, so they really aren’t necessarily tailored to your needs.
And from what I’ve found, you can almost always find a better credit card offer elsewhere, whether by mail, on the card issuer’s website, or through independent credit card comparison sites.
Related offer: Best cash back credit card.
(photo: shaylor)
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