Store cards are the worst possible form of credit available. They charge interest rates of 30% and more, they only allow you to shop in a single store, or at best a chain of stores, and they often demand full repayment for missing a single instalment. So why would anyone want to own such as drain on their money?

To tell the truth there’s only one real reason – so you can shop to your hearts desire without actually spending your own money…even though it will be your money you use in the long run. You can go into your favourite store, say for example Currys or Debenhams or Next and buy hundreds of pounds worth of stuff without even getting your purse or wallet out. You can walk out with that satisfied feeling knowing you don’t have to pay until the end of the month and then you can pay in instalments.

Some cards even offer an opening discount of up to 20% so you can benefit even more with your first purchase and it is this offer that you can take advantage of without then getting fleeced for an awful lot of interest.

Using Store Cards to your Advantage
If the store card you’re interested in is offering a percentage off your first purchase then by all means take advantage of it. Buy what you need and get the discount. Then as long as you pay the balance in full before the end of the month (when the interest charges start) you benefit fully from the discount. You can get even more out of it by taking your friends with you when you open the account. They can give all their purchases to you to buy with your new card and then they also benefit from the 20% off or whatever the deal is.

Alternatively you can buy what you want, take advantage of the discount and then transfer the balance to an interest free credit card or one with a much lower interest rate than the store card. Once thing to watch though is that some store cards may specify that you have to make at least one payment before you can transfer the balance and so it is important to make sure the interest charge for the first month (while you are transferring the balance across) isn’t bigger than the discount you got in the first place.

Additional Benefits
A number of the store cards around today offer their customers special offers such as membership-only events and access to online preseason sales. These are great and they can also be taken advantage of but remember to only spend what you can afford to pay by the end of the month otherwise the savings you make will disappear with the interest charges you later get hit with.