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Without doubt, making regular credit card comparisons is an excellent idea. It allows you to keep current with the latest offers, and ensures that you are never left behind with poor rates that can be vastly bettered elsewhere. Every few months you should be checking a credit card comparison website, and comparing what's on offer to the rates and figures you are currently experiencing.

However, that does not mean you should be switching cards every few months. No matter how good your credit card deal is at the moment, it is almost guaranteed that in a couple of months there will be some offer that seems slightly more attractive. Taking credit card after credit card is not a good idea, especially if you do not cancel your older ones. Pretty quickly your activity will appear to be the actions of someone who is desperately trying to secure as much credit as possible, which causes alarm bells to sound within the lending industry.

It can also create problems for you, because you will have at your disposal an array of credit cards you can easily lose track of. Unless money is no object, handing over five different credit cards throughout the month is a recipe for disaster because it will lead to bills arriving whose cumulative total can be beyond your means to pay off.

The best use of a credit card comparison website is to reassure yourself that your credit card is not doing you a disservice in its rates or fees. Securing a 1% lower purchase interest rate is not worth it, especially if you have to pay another annual fee. What you are looking for is a glaring disparity between what you have presently, and what you could be enjoying. But this is only relevant if the figures are actually affecting your finances. Whilst a 10% purchase interest rate is cheaper than an 18% interest rate, this is only pertinent if you have a debt that is carrying over from one month to the next. If you always pay off your bill in full each month, then your interest rate never has an effect.

Credit card comparisons need to be made rationally. Remember that applications that are rejected can impact your credit score. In this way, making an unnecessary application may even prevent you being able to secure a new credit card when you really do need to.