Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - Discussed in more detail click here
Annual Fee - A flat fee charge usually around £10-£30 which many credit card companies charge. However with competition in this sector ferocious many companies now have special offers charging Zero Fees.
Credit Rating - Your personal credit report that Card companies will use to assimilate financial information on you. If you have a bad credit rating you may find it hard to obtain a credit card. Click Here for more information on Credit Rating
Finance Charge - The amount of money you're charged for using credit. If you don't pay off your full amount when due you will have to pay this finance charge. But there are normally other charges levied such as cash advance fees. You can use your Credit Card to withdraw cash from an ATM or a bank counter and this withdrawal normally suffers an immediate interest charge as well as other charges. More information click here
Fixed Rate - Credit Cards either charge a fixed APR or a variable rate. Beware though because even a 'fixed' finance rate (APR) can change over time if interest rates move significantly
Grace Period (or Free Period) - The amount of time before you have to pay your bill in full before you get charged interest at either a fixed or variable APR rate. Normally the grace period is about 30 days but can be as high as 60 days depending on when your goods or services were purchased. How much time you have for your grace period will be clearly set out on your statement. Note when you withdraw cash you normally have no grace period as interest starts accruing from that date often at a higher rate than using your card to purchase goods
Introductory rate - Usually some sort of special offer which may offer interest free deals for a number of months or no interest on cash advances etc.
Variable Rate - The amount of interest that you pay on your card (assuming that you don't pay off your balance within the grace period) above a certain level, usually the official base rate.
