Thread: New to credit cards, a few questions.

Hey John,

Well actually Visa, Mastercard and American Express are just networks that payments are processed through. Amex does issue most of their own cards, but Visa and Mastercard don't issue a single credit card believe it or not. Those are issued through the banks that use their payment networks. What you really want to decide is which bank (and their card) is best to work with since the payment network doesn't really matter.

The grace period on credit cards is usually 20 to 25 days, the time you can go w/o paying interest. But some are shady now and have chopped that down to 10 or 0. However whatever the case that time doesnt start until after a billing cycle closes.

Amex Platinum vs. Centurion - to be honest there's not a huge difference other than the big difference in annual fee. The benefits on the Centurion aren't worth it unless you travel all the time.

You paid off your mortgage in a year? Congratulations!

It sounds like an American Express charge card would be good for you. There's no reason for you to carry a balance from what it sounds like and their cards will give you the best benefits. But a charge card and a credit card are different, you can read the difference below:

Charge Card vs. Credit Card

Yep the Green, Gold, Platinum and Black are all charge cards. BUT Amex also issues credit cards they call Platinum too but they're not the same as their Platinum charge cards. Amex is less accepted but now it seems like they are accepted almost everywhere you could need them. Only place I encounter that doesn't accept is a mom n pop drycleaners I go to. Everyone else takes it.

The thing you have to remember about charge cards is they usually don't report your credit limits (if there's a preset limit) to the credit bureaus on your report. Usually it will just show the card you have (i.e. Gold charge card) and how much you spend on it each much.