The first step in both the online and offline credit card selection process is to determine what the primary use of your new credit card will be. Do you need to transfer a balance? Are you looking for a rewards card to earn points or cash back on purchases? Do you need a new small business credit card? Perhaps you are just trying to explore your options and are looking around to see what’s available. Whatever your reason, it’s always a good idea to think about what attributes you want in a credit card as it makes the selection process much easier. It’s also good to know ahead of time how you may viewed from a lender’s standpoint so that you don’t apply for a credit card that you more than likely won’t get approved for. An extension of this is that if you do know that you have excellent credit you have many more options. For example, you may want to apply for an offer with rewards, a low interest rate and a 0% intro APR.

You’ll notice that the cards are typically presented with the name of the offer and the art (the way the card looks). There also should be a summary that gives a general overview of the offer that highlights its perks and benefits. Please take a look at the image below for an example with the arrows in red. Note that the card below is used for educational purposes only and the terms and conditions for this offer may have changed.

Checking website security is very important. Because you will be potentially filling out an application containing personally identifiable information such as your DOB, social security number, address, etc., you want to make sure that you are protected. The way to do this is to look at the url where you are redirected. Identify a padlock and make sure that the url starts with https instead of http. This signifies that the site is secure and is shown below in red. You will also be able to identify clearly on the page that in fact the page is secure as it’s required by law. Note, these two things as well:

Once you’ve verified that the site is secure it’s always wise to check the terms and conditions on the issuer’s website one more time before you apply. With all respectable credit card comparison websites, the rate information and pricing should be on a feed -- provided by the issuer. However, even though every effort is maintained to provide accurate information, server drops and other unseen circumstances may arise and as a precautionary measure it’s always a good idea to double-check the pricing just so you are sure that the card is as advertised. You don’t want to be in a situation where you think that you’re applying for a 0% APR credit card and it turns out that the terms have changed and the 0% rate is no longer being offered.

Again, this isn’t something that should really be worried about as most sites now are on a feed, but you can never be too sure and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Now you’re ready to fill out the application. For those of you planning on transferring a balance to your new card, if the bank accepts online balance transfers there will be a step in the application process where you will need your existing account information for the balances to be transferred. Once you have completely filled out the application and submitted it you are all done. If approved, you will typically receive your new credit card in the mail within 7-10 business days.