Credit cards are available from more banks than ever before. There are a huge amount of different varieties of credit cards available online as well. Of course they are all cleared through Visa, MasterCard, or American Express and Discovery. So the variety is in the realm of similarity. Also, certain states have more favorable laws for the establishment of large credit card issuing units, especially the states of Nevada and Delaware and a couple of others.

Basic attractions of credit cards come in a fairly limited series of features. The first is low interest rates. Many cards today give you an up to 12-month introductory rates of zero-interest rates. Thereafter, the APR is several points above the prime rate. Rates vary from a low of 11.5-percent to 14-percent or more. Another incentive is to give customer rebates, and points accumulated as discounts on certain attractive problems. The most familiar discounts are on gas and the accumulation of airline ?frequent flyer? points.

For example, on a card issued by Chase Banking Corp the APR is 14.24-percent, which is a variable rate. With this card you can earn rebates on all of your gasoline purchase, not only one brand, with the maximum gasoline rebate per month being $15. These days it has become increasingly easy to be approved for credit cards. It's mostly based on your credit score, and your current income, but often, there will be no verification of your income.

You can see there is quite a variation of the interest rates paid on cards. Looking at a Discovery Platinum card, it's amazing to see an APR of only 10.99-percent and also a 12-month period of zero-interest on balances. The actual interest charge will be based on the customer's credit history and income. This card has a credit limit of $50,000. Due to the low interest rate and the high credit limit, presumably the verification of credit and income would be more rigorous than for any old card.

There is also an up to 2-percent cash back bonus award, when the customer receives certificates towards products and services that are partners with the issuers of this credit card. Other stores and warehouse clubs pay 0.25-percent cash back when you use this credit card. These cards are issued by the Discovery Bank, which is a branch of Morgan Stanley (investment bank). When you apply for the card, the pop-up says you get up to five-percent back on some products, so I wish they would make up their mind.