There are many factors involved in choosing for the best credit cards. First, you must think about how the it will be used.

If you expect to always foreclosure  pay your monthly bill in full, your best choice may be a credit card that has no annual fee and offers a longer grace period.

If you sometimes carry over a balance from month to month, you may be more interested in a credit card that carries a lower interest rate or low annual percentage rate (APR).

If you expect to use your card to get cash advances, you will want to look for a one that carries a lower APR and lower fees on cash advances. Some charge a higher APR for cash advances than for purchases.

These are steps to take when deciding on a credit card, but your actual breadth of options depends in great part on your credit history.

Once you have decided which card is best suited for your needs, it is time to do a comparison shopping; more like when you are looking for a mortgage or a car loan.

Here are some tips that should help you get started:

1. Do some research – There are plenty of places, both online and offline, where you can read about credit card offers and even get their ratings, but since rates and plans change so often, it’s a good idea to call the institutions you are interested in to confirm the information and to see if there are other plans that might work for you. A reliable and non-commercial resource is the Federal Reserve Board. Also, the non-profit consumer credit organization U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms offers credit card ratings from its research.

2. Make a list – Make a list of credit card features that fit your financial needs and rank the features according to how you plan to use the card and pay your monthly bill.

3. Review the plans – Review all of the information you have gathered on different plans. Pay special attention to the APR; you want a low rate, but not necessarily the lowest. This is because, depending on your lifestyle and payment habits, you might benefit more from a card that offers cash rebates, discounts or frequent-flier miles.