How to Read Credit Card Terms and Disclosures

Before you apply for a card, the issuer must show a standardized summary of rates and fees. Learning to read it takes a few minutes and tells you far more than a marketing headline does.

Interest rates

The table lists the APR for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. Rates are usually variable and tied to a benchmark, and the rate you receive depends on your credit profile. Introductory rates have an end date, after which the regular rate applies.

Fees

Look for the annual fee, balance transfer fee, cash advance fee, foreign transaction fee, late payment fee and returned payment fee. Not every card charges all of them.

How interest is calculated

The disclosure explains the grace period, which is the time you have to pay your statement balance in full without interest on new purchases, and the method used to compute the balance that interest applies to.

Questions to ask yourself

• Will I pay the balance in full each month, or do I need a low ongoing rate?
• Do any fees apply to the way I plan to use the card?
• What happens when an introductory offer ends?

Card terms change frequently. The details on this site come from the information listed on the original card pages, so always confirm the current terms on the issuer’s site.