 TITLE: How to Avoid Paying Credit Card Interest CONTENT: How to Lower Your Credit Card APR\n---------------------------------\nLeveraging your credit card's grace period is a great way to avoid interest charges. In reality, it's all but inevitable that you'll eventually accrue interest on your purchases, so it's a good idea to seek out the lowest APR credit card.\nCredit card APRs can vary from person to person, even for the same card from the same lender. When a lender decides the APR on a credit card, it typically considers several things about a borrower, including their credit report, credit score, income and employment history. Many lenders use credit scores as an initial screen to help match applicants to different cards and interest rates. Applicants with higher credit scores typically are offered a lower APR.\nTo get the best loan terms available to you, consider doing the following:\n*   Review your credit reports and report any inaccuracies to the national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax).\n*   Check your credit score and take steps to improve it, such as:\n    *   Always pay your bills on time. Just one late payment can cause a significant decline in your credit score.\n    *   Avoid high credit card balances, especially when they exceed 30% of your borrowing limit.\n*   Apply to multiple lenders and shop carefully for the best deal; consider both APR and annual fees.\n*   Negotiate with your card issuers to try to reduce the APR on cards you already have.\nAPRs are great for comparing credit card offers, but the best credit card interest charges are the ones you don't pay at all. By understanding the grace period and managing your balances carefully, you can keep your interest payments at or close to zero no matter what the interest rate is on your card. END