There are thousands of credit cards on the market, including your standard plastic and store cards. While most stores will accept your typical Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express cards, things get a little tighter once you stray away from these giants of the industry.
If you see an attractive offer from a store credit card, you need to consider just how often you’ll use this card and if it is worth having the account on your credit report. If there is only one chain store that accepts that card, and that store is 30 miles from your house, you will likely never use it and miss out on its benefits.
In this case, you would be better off using one of your existing cards or applying for a new card from one of the staple card issuers that gives you an equally good offer.
For example, a Home Depot credit card may give you 0-percent interest for six months on $250 purchase, but you never go to the store and will probably never use this card again. Instead of hauling around that useless Home Depot card forever, you can get a Visa or Mastercard with a 0-percent introductory offer on all purchases.
Not only will this give you 0-percent interest for a longer period, but it will also allow you to get that same 0-percent APR at other stores. It’s a win-win.