Around 45 million credit cards are in use in the UK, allowing their owners to purchase goods and services from over 700,00 UK outlets and over 14 million outlets worldwide.

Only a few decades ago there were just two credit card providers; Barclaycard and Access. However, there is now an overwhelming choice of approximately 60 providers supplying around 1500 differently branded credit cards.

The large selection of cards available has introduced competition to the market and subsequently resulted in some very attractive deals, such as Capital One's introductory rate of 0% interest for 6 months.

With different cards come differing interest rates, incentive schemes, annual fees and interest free periods, to name just four credit card features. The wide range of choice can be confusing, but this site gives you the information to understand what to look for and helps you find a credit card with a lower rate of interest and benefits to suit your lifestyle.

Credit cards can provide an excellent means of borrowing over the short term, especially with low introductory rates, but owning a credit card requires the resources and discipline to pay off the outstanding balance.

With up to 8 weeks interest free credit, they can also offer a convenient and cheap means of assisting your cash flow.

With incentive schemes and benefits such as cash back, air miles and free insurance, a credit card can actually improve your financial position compared to using cash, assuming you pay the outstanding balance off each month!

In summary, credit cards can be extremely beneficial when used sensibly, within your means. Unfortunately, they can also push you into uncontrolled debt if they are abused and used to purchase services and products that you cannot afford.