When you evaluate credit card rewards, make sure to consider interest rates and annual fees. If you’re a first-time credit card applicant, you may want to consider a card with a lower APR and no annual fee to better manage your balance.
The APR (annual percentage rate) reflects the interest rate and fees associated with a credit card. Your APR is the cost of borrowing on your credit card, which is why it’s wise to seek out a low APR for your first credit card.
When you compare credit cards, you don’t usually have to worry about identifying both APR and interest rate—the two figures should mean the same thing. But you may have a different APR for things like balance transfers or cash advances. Many credit cards offer a low introductory APR during a specified time after you open your account. When that promotion ends, the APR could rise, so the credit card account begins to accrue interest if there’s an unpaid balance.