4 Healthy Credit Card Habits That You Should Adopt ASAP

This article was originally on GET.com at: 4 Healthy Credit Card Habits That You Should Adopt ASAP

Many people living in Singapore own one or multiple credit cards. But not every person who owns a credit card really knows how important it is to practice healthy credit card habits. The lack of these habits can lead up to big problems like credit card debt. It's surprising to know that despite the many credit cards out there, these good habits are not as common as we think.

While there are ways to solve credit card debt, we, at GET.com believe that prevention is better than a cure, so we've rounded up 4 healthy credit card habits that you can adopt to make your credit card experience a positive one.

4 Healthy Credit Card Habits That You Should Adopt ASAP

1. Get A Credit Card That Matches Your Spending Habits

Everybody likes to spend on different things, and if you're thinking of getting yourself a credit card, whether this is your first or your third, it's important to first identify what you spend the most on. For some it could be groceries, for others it could be shopping, monthly bills or even travel.

All credit cards have different rewards and benefits, and some don't even have rewards. You should be getting a credit card that will give you the most benefits for something that you spend the most on. For example, if you find yourself spending on groceries the most, then a good credit card for groceries is HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card, for example because it lets you earn 5% cashback on your grocery shopping.

If you love to shop, you can consider Citibank Rewards Card VISA because it lets you earn 10% unlimited Citi Rebates with Citi partners.

For people who love to travel, paying via Citi PremierMiles Visa Card allows you to earn 10 miles per $1 for online travel bookings that can be used to offset some of your travel expenses.

Here you can see our pick of the best cashback credit cards in Singapore right now. If you travel often, take a look at our selection of the best travel credit cards.

2. Spend Within Your Means

Some people like to think that having a credit card means having the power to buy things that you couldn't afford with cash. But this is completely the wrong mentality to have when signing up for a credit card. You have to remember that at the end of the day, you still have to pay for the things you swiped on your credit card when your billing statements arrive.

While some people are big spenders, people with healthy credit card habits will not spend just for the sake of it. For example, if they see a 20% sale happening at a clothing store, they will not buy anything that they don't actually just because it's cheaper than the original price.

If you constantly spend without thinking about how it will affect your account balance, you might not have enough money to pay off your credit card bills. This could lead to you not paying the bills on time or in full and racking up high interest rates on your balance. The key to not making your credit card a burden, is to spend according to what you can afford.

3. Pay Your Bills On Time And In Full

People with healthy credit card habits want to stay away from being charged interest because of a late or partial payment. Even though the interest rate may seem small at first, as it accumulates over your subsequent expenditures, you might end up paying for more than what you've spent.

One way to make sure that your credit card bills are paid on time, is to set up a GIRO deduction a few days after you get your pay cheque. The GIRO ensures that you have enough in your account to deduct your credit card bills with no excuses for you to delay the payment.

If you tend to lose track of how much you've already spent throughout the month with your credit card, set reminders on your calendar about a week in advance from the cut off date just to make sure that you have enough money to pay for your credit card bills by the due date.

If you are already in debt or if you somehow can't pay the particular bill on time or in full, there are some balance transfer credit cards that let you pay off your debt with 0% interest. We've narrowed down these balance transfer credit cards here. You can also check out these 3 tips that can help you clear your credit card debt.

4. Don't Let Your Rewards Expire

People who have healthy credit card habits like to keep track of the benefits they are entitled to and also fully use them.

Stay on top of things. If you're aware that you have been using this credit card actively, then you are probably raking up some rewards that you can claim. What people don't realise is that most of these rewards come with an expiry date.

While it's easy to dismiss expiry dates, not keeping track of your benefits could result in you missing out offers that you could've benefitted from greatly. Here's a few more tips on how you can get the most out of your credit card.

If you want a card with rewards that don't expire, here you can find the 4 best credit cards with miles or rewards points that never expire.

Other Credit Cards You Can Consider

There's a wide range of credit cards in Singapore that you can choose from, and GET.com has done the research for you already.

Here you can find the best rewards credit cards and the best low interest credit cards

For those of you who spend a lot on petrol, you can save money with the best credit cards for petrol savings that might be suitable for you.

If you're a student and already hunting for your first credit card, here you can find the best credit cards for students.

And if you have a business here you can see our pick of the best business credit cards in Singapore at the moment.

Be sure to keep your lifestyle and spending habits in mind when deciding on which type of credit card would suit you.

What do you think? Share your comments with us below!

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