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Credit cards are necessary in these financial times. We don’t all have the gift of balancing our finances to the last digit, so a credit card comes in handy to make those urgent purchases that cannot wait for the monthly pay check. If you are applying for a credit card for the first time, one of those frequent terms that you will hear is APR. It’s short for Annual Percentage Rate. In the most basic of explanations, APR can be defined as the amount you pay the credit card company as interest. It’s an aggregate of the rates that you pay monthly.

Finding good APR is not all that hard- if you know all the right places to look. The persons that qualify for good credit card APR are those that have commendable credit ratings. If in your financial past you have honored every payment without delay and you don’t have any unsettled debt, you are in for some very good rates. Your high credit score is a testament to your repayment responsibility which is why any credit card company can trust you with the lowest interest rates.

There are times however when a credit card company will offer very little APR, sometimes even zero, but that’s usually a measure to lure in the customers. Since most people want this, many sign up with the company. But after one year, or even six months, the zero APR becomes invalid, and you get hit with the real rates. Not to worry though since this is usually explained before you apply for the credit card.

To have good credit card APR you have to honor every monthly payment. For ease and convenience, most credit card companies slot in monthly payments out of the amount that you are loaned. If you default on your payment for one month that usually means that your next month’s interest rate will be a bit higher. That is because the sum is usually carried forward. Try avoiding that whenever possible.

Given the fact that credit card companies are so many, one is obliged to make comparisons instead of settling for the first company that stretches its hands to you. It’s always possible to find a company with lower APR than your previous searches even when your credit rating is hurting.

For your APR to be really good, you have to know about all the hidden APR rates, like the real ones after the expiry period of the introductory rates that are usually reduced, and APRs for cash advances.