Accepting Credit Card Offers

We all have to make decisions on accepting credit card offers on a daily basis. We get bombarded with new offers every day, especially if we have good credit ratings. In my KAOS identity protection system, I emphasize on creating, keeping and sharing less of our identity components. Especially, in the Assessment or Analysis section of the KAOS system, I encourage assessing the identity theft risks of our actions when dealing with our personal information. So, what should you do when you have a new credit card offer in the mail? I think you have mainly two options: 1) shred and throw away the offer, or 2) apply for the card. I suggest shredding and throwing away the offer if you already have a couple of good credit cards, with reputable banks that have good service and great rebate plans. Obviously, banks like any other company are after higher revenues and will not advise you to not use their cards because you already own a couple of the competitor’s cards. They also will not explain to you the risks of owning too many credit cards or tell you that they don’t have good service or bad rebate plans. This is something that you have to investigate, learn and decide for yourself before accepting credit card offers. However, if you decide that you like the card offer because you don’t have another card and would like to start building your credit history, or that this one offers a better service or value in terms of rebates and benefits, consider my suggestions:

1- Consider the institution, their reputation and privacy policies. Go with the big players which provide viability and product stability. The smaller ones tend to get acquired by the big ones which may change the initial terms of the credit cards, although, in my experience, the smaller banks provide better service until they get bigger. Therefore, if you selected the credit card because it offered a better value, that may change after the acquisition.

2- Cancel a card you already possess and close the account. This will ensure the list of your personal information or identity components that you created in the “Knowing your information” section of the KAOS system remains tightly controlled. As I suggested, owning less credit cards exposes you to lower levels of risks. As you make the decision and acquire a new credit card, consider giving up another one.

Learn about other credit card risks after "accepting credit card offers".