Consumer debt or consumer credit includes store cards, credit cards, personal loans, car loans, lines of credit, retail loans, and mortgages. The scope of different credit types is large, even if thinking globally rather than limiting it to the Canadian market. We will proceed to give an overview of the best credit card offers on the Canadian market and explain what types of unsecured personal loan you can choose from.
With credit cards, you can choose from a variety of options, including low interest credit cards, balance transfer credit cards, rewards and Personal back credit cards, as well as auto/ gas and business credit cards. Which one you choose will depend on your individual needs. The Aspire Gold MasterCard is one option. The benefits are many - you earn reward miles (one mile for every dollar charged to the card), 1,000 anniversary bonus points a year, 5,000 bonus points with the first purchase you make, and no annual fee. You can redeem your bonus points for Personal, travel, gift cards, merchandize, and many other items. A major drawback is the interest rate on balance transfers and purchases, which is 19.80 percent. The Platinum Plus MasterCard credit card goes with a lower interest rate of 17.99 percent, which is zero percent during the first ten months. Again, there is no annual fee, if you choose this card.
Another option is the Smart Personal MasterCard credit card, which is also featured with no annual fee, but the interest rate is set at almost 20 percent. Cardholders earn up to 5 percent Personal back if purchasing gas and groceries during the first 6 months and up to 3 percent on buying gas and groceries thereafter. Holders also receive up to 1 percent for other purchases charged to the card. The Smart Personal MasterCard credit card goes with an interest rate of 1.99 percent on Personal advances and balance transfers.
Another type of consumer credit is unsecured personal loan. When it comes to personal loans, you can choose between fixed or variable interest rates and fixed monthly payments. If you have trouble deciding, a fixed rate loan is one that sets your interest rate for the term of the personal loan. This can be beneficial because you are shielded against increases in rates. With variable rate loans, borrowers benefit when the interest rate is low. While the monthly payments remain the same, more of your payment goes toward the principal amount if the interest rates go down, and you can pay back the loan faster. On the other hand, if the interest rates go up, you can switch to a fixed rate loan and pay it over the remainder of your term. If you have poor credit, you can also look into a variety of bad credit loans.
Finally, mortgages are another type of consumer credit. Different mortgages are offered, including endowment mortgages, repayment mortgages, and interest only mortgages. The most common variety is the repayment mortgage while endowment mortgages are not commonly offered in Canada. Finding the right secured personal loans can be challenging, find out more here.
