Irish Credit Cards

During the boom days when everyone assumed that housing prices would continue to rise ad infinitum, Ireland was wedded to their credit cards. There was always more credit on tap. Buying and selling property was the kind of thing you would feel left out if you weren't doing. The consumer's mindset was largely "Buy now, pay later," and unfortunately, the "Rip Off Ireland" concept was largely tolerated by consumers. But something happened on the way to the credit crunch. Even before banks cut off questionable lending, people started to realize that accumulating debt was ultimately not going to be offset by a continued boom in property prices.

By the time the credit crunch hit in 2008, many consumers worldwide were already going on the assumption that all the financial candy they'd been eating the past few years was going to result in several years of biliousness. Ireland was no exception. Thrift quickly became the new standard.

To that end, consumers are paying much more attention to the terms of service of their credit cards, canceling those with the worst terms and transferring balances to cards with lower interest rates or better perks. If you do carry a credit card with a balance, you can probably find a better deal if you do some searching. Here are a few things to look for when looking for better credit card deals in Ireland.

Perhaps the the change that would make the biggest difference would be a lower interest rate overall, not just a low or 0% introductory rate. Unless you plan to pay off your entire balance quickly, low "teaser" rates are likely to rebound back to where your rates were before - or worse.

That said, if you have the means to pay off your credit card balance, you might consider getting a card with a low or 0% teaser rate on balance transfers. The longer that rate holds, the better. It isn't as easy now to find cards with teaser rates that last for a year, but six months is still fairly easy to find. But if you know you'll eventually be carrying a balance again, then overall interest rate is the most important characteristic you should look for in a card.

Rebates in the form of gasoline, airline miles or some sort of points reward scheme are quite appealing when money is tight. But again: if you carry a balance, interest rates will undoubtedly dwarf any perks or savings you might receive from a rebate card.

With a new attitude toward thrift, Irish credit card holders are more accepting of the idea that enticing financial offers from credit card companies often come at a very dear price.