A credit card is essentially an unsecured loan. This means that, at all times, the credit card must be a mode of payment only, not a mode of credit. You should always pay it back in full before any interest is incurred.

Ideally, you’ll want to borrow only what you can afford to pay back but if you do carry a balance, make sure it doesn’t exceed 20 to 30% of your available limit or it will affect your credit rating.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to owning multiple credit cards – it all depends on individual circumstances. In general, two cards are enough for most Singaporeans. One for general expenses and the second for the biggest portion of retail spend.

Never assume that everything on your credit card statement is absolutely correct. Even banks can get it wrong sometimes so it’s best to keep your receipts to match dates & amounts against your monthly statements to avoid being overcharged.

Despite a strong dollar, many cards will charge you a foreign transaction fee of about 1 to 3% of what you buy overseas. Some frequent travellers will use a specific card when they’re abroad but cash is still king when it comes to dealing with payments.