Welcome to a special report on credit card rates. In these worsening economic times it is perhaps a good moment to take a step back and have a look at which credit card rate is right for you.

There are a number of factors you have to look at in finding the most suitable rate.

You have to ask yourself: "Am I trying to pay my card off/get it down?" or "am I the type of person that always has an amount incurring interest?"

If you are the first person, then perhaps have a look at credit card balance transfers. Banks such as BNZ and Kiwibank are offering a 4.99% rate for 6-months. But this only applies to the amount transferred. New purchases will be charged at standard rates.

If you are the second person, have a look at low interest rate options, but be careful. Sometimes it is worth actually being on a card with higher rates, but lower account fees. It all depends on how much you are routinely paying interest on. For example ASB's standard card has a rate of 19.95%, with annual fees of NZ$24. Its low rate option is 12.5% but has annual account fees of NZ$60. If you were routinely paying interest on less than NZ$485, it would be cheaper (per annum) to be on the card with the higher rate.

Another example is Kiwibank. It has one card with a 15.90% rate, and no account fees (as long as you use the card every 3 months), and another with a rate of 13.30% and annual fees of NZ$50. If you were routinely paying interest on less than NZ$2,000 it would be cheaper to be on the card with the higher rate. It is only above NZ$2,000 that benefits from the lower rate kick in.