Credit card offers are everywhere. Without a credit card offer you can't rent a car or book a room even if you are planning to pay in cash! You can't get miles and hotels stays for free! Even when you go to the interview to get a new job, you will be asked about your credit history.

Today an average American carries from 8 to 10 credit cards in his or her wallet. But are credit card offers really so great? Of course, they give us a chance to purchase thing that we can't afford, they are easy to use and have great rewards programs, but they have several disadvantages that you need to know.

The main disadvantage of credit cards is that they lead us to temptation. Having a credit card in hands we feel a real buying power! Credit card users forget that the money on credit cards have to be repaid! We feel that we can get everything we want as a result in many cases people end up with bad credit history and with huge credit card debt!

It is obvious that all credit cards charge interest. Many credit card offers have 0% APR or 0% balance transfer for an introductory period, but after it is over, APR can go up to 39%! That's when the debt starts to grow rapidly! Some plastics, for example, rewards credit cards have particularly high interest rates.

There are many credit card offers on the market today. Credit card offers like hotel rewards credit cards, cash back credit cards, student credit cards and many others. It is very tempting for a credit card user to get more and more cards! Remember that 2 or three credit cards are enough! Too many credit cards can lead to a bigger debt.

Credit card companies play a great trick on most of the credit card users letting them pay only a minimum payment, which is about 3% of the balance.

My friend Betty was using her credit card every day. She thought it was O.K. to make a minimum payment regularly. In her mind it was fine as she was not missing any payments. Only in a year she finally realized that she was doing something wrong! She got in big financial troubles and now Betty is in a process of solving them.

Another disadvantage of credit cards is that they can be easily stolen! The credit card companies put the responsibility on card users, insisting that PIN details are never disclosed and the personal information is kept secure in the computers. Unfortunately, the thieves are trying to use more sophisticated methods to get the personal information of unsuspecting card holders.

Plus, some PDQ machines print the card number in full, so don't put the receipts in the same bag where you keep purchases! In case the bag is stolen, the thieves will also get your credit information.

Of course credit cards are more secure now as they used to be, but still you always have to watch out!

Credit cards can be very helpful, but you should take into consideration their disadvantages and use your plastics wisely!

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