Many of us enjoy good or excellent credit and the flexibility that comes with carrying credit cards in our wallets. You need to make sure that you are making the best use of the credit that is available to you by using the best credit cards that offer you low interest rates.

Credit card interest rates range from very inexpensive to predatory. If you shop on-line for credit cards paying particular attention to interest rates you will quickly find that on the low end some credit cards such as the American Express Blue card offer %8.99 interest, and that interest rates can run as high as three times that much on other cards.

That is an incredibly big difference. Now, if you are in the habit of paying off the balance of your credit card every month this has little or no impact (see Grace Period), but if you don’t pay your card off completely every month you’re throwing money away. Check this out: given an average balance of $1,000 dollars, over the course of a year you would pay $90 in interest with that American Express card and closer to $250 dollars with some of the higher interest cards!

You should always be aware of the interest rates that you are paying on your credit cards. You should also check periodically to see if you can find a better deal, and if you do, take it. Here are some tips to use when shopping for low interest credit cards:

* You won’t find a better place to shop for credit cards than on-line. There are credit card shopping web sites available that allow you to compare lots of cards head-to-head, all within the comfort and privacy of your home, free, and with the click of a mouse.

* Throw out those credit cards that come in the US mail. They always carry interest rates higher than those that you can find on your own. Some credit card banks spam good credit risks with offers and they are uniformly worse than those you can find on-line. Check the Truth in Lending statement that comes with each offer in the mail - you’ll see what I’m talking about.

* Look for credit cards with long Grace Periods. The grace period is the number of days between when you make a purchase with your card and when interest begins to accrue on that charge. Typical grace periods range from 0 to 30 days. Obviously, longer grace periods are better. Again, if your someone who pays their entire credit card balance off each month you might be surprised to find that you’re still paying a bit of interest. That’s the grace period in action -you should avoid cards with short grace periods.

* Don’t be greedy - too many credit cards can be bad for your credit rating. Plus, too any credit cards get a little hard to keep track of. Shop for the best credit card interest rate you can find, apply for the cards and once you get them trade out your higher interest cards, closing the old accounts.

I shouldn’t have to tell you this if you already have good credit, but it is important to pay your bill on time, all the time. If you are carrying credit cards that aren’t optimal and tailored to your spending and payment habits you are throwing money away. Take a close look at the terms of your credit cards and shop - you can almost always find a better deal.