Insider Tips To Get the Most Out of Your Credit Card’s Fine Print
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Written by
Harrison Pierce
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Edited by
Amen Oyiboke-Osifo
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Reviewed by
Jasmin Baron
Do you read the fine print when you apply for a credit card? Most people don’t — but you should. You can find important details about interest rates, promotional offers and other terms that can determine whether a card makes sense for you. Here are a few insider tips to help you get the most out of your credit card’s fine print.
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Start With the Schumer Box
When you visit the information page of a potential card, you’ll notice a clickable link labeled “Pricing & Terms” or “Rates & Fees.” Clicking the link will open a new window. At the top of the page, you’ll see a large box filled with key details — known as The Schumer box, named after Sen. Chuck Schumer.
This box is standardized and divided into two sections: interest rates and fees.
The top half, interest rates and charges, will tell you the following information:
- Annual percentage rate for purchases
- APR for balance transfers
- APR for cash advances
- Penalty APRs
- Grace period
- Minimum interest rate charged
The second half (fees) will tell you the following:
- Annual fee
- Transaction fees (like foreign transactions)
- Penalty fees (like late or returned payments)
Examining this box will provide a snapshot of the costs associated with holding and using the card. It’s a lot of information condensed into an easy-to-read table.
Pay Attention To Earning Requirements
Once you understand the interest rates and fees, you’ll need to look at your earning potential. If you’re applying for one of the best rewards credit cards on the market, there will be a lot of fine print to comb through.
For example, if you’d like to earn a welcome offer, there’s a lot more information than first meets the eye. When you click on “offer details,” you’ll see paragraphs of information regarding which purchases qualify for the welcome offer and how long it’ll take to post to your account once earned.
Similarly, the offer details will indicate which purchases qualify for the rewards program. For instance, Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs like Costco often don’t count as a supermarket, and therefore won’t earn bonus points in that category. If you are a loyal Costco shopper and you didn’t read the terms and conditions, you’ll earn far fewer points than you expect on your grocery purchases each month.
You also might not realize that cash-back rewards are often earned as points that can be redeemed for cash back and other options, such as gift cards and travel.
Read Through Benefit Fine Print
Apart from earnings, you’ll likely be able to take advantage of various credit card perks, like statement credits, complimentary memberships to rideshare or food delivery services, airport lounge access, elite status and more.
Sometimes, the requirements surrounding these cardholder perks can be strict. You may need to activate a benefit before it takes effect, or complete a purchase on a specific website to earn your statement credit. So many of these benefits are use-it-or-lose-it, meaning they don’t roll over to the following month if left unused. If you don’t read the fine print, you might not earn the benefit. If you leave money on the table, it’s much harder to justify paying for an annual fee.
Understand Travel and Purchase Coverage
Once you understand your rates and fees, earning potential and primary cardholder benefits, it’s time to dig even deeper. Typically, major advertised benefits have the fine print close by, but there are even more benefits that you might overlook.
For example, many credit cards come with protections like purchase protection, extended warranty, price drop protection, cell phone insurance, travel coverage and more. These policies have substantial fine print, especially when it comes to exclusions. Most of the time, you need to use the credit card for the purchase if you want to claim under that card’s policy. For example, if you buy something online with one card but want to use the purchase protection benefit from another card, you will be unable to do so.
Regularly Review the Fine Print
Cardholder benefits are constantly evolving, which means the fine print is changing as well. You should check periodically to review the fine print and ensure you’re maximizing your credit card rewards. Although issuers are required to notify you of changes, it’s very easy for these notifications to get lost in pages of fine print.
If you aren’t, you can always discuss a product change with your issuer to switch to a card that better meets your needs.
Bottom Line
Reading your credit card’s fine print isn’t an exciting task, but it is an important one. When you fully understand the rates, fees, rewards program and cardholder benefits, you can unlock all sorts of perks you didn’t know about, as well as avoid unnecessary charges.
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