While choosing a credit card, consider these terms you'll encounter in credit-card brochures or discussions with potential lenders:

Annual fee - A flat, yearly charge similar to a membership fee.

Joining fee – This is a one time fee collected by the Bank.

Finance charge - The amount you pay to use credit. Besides interest costs, this may include other charges such as cash-advance fees, which are charged against your card when you borrow cash from the lender. (You generally pay higher interest on cash advances than on purchases -- check your latest bill to find out what you're paying for this service!)

Grace period - A time period, usually about 17-22 days, during which you can pay your credit-card bill without the interest.

Annualized percentage rate (APR) - The yearly percentage rate of the interest rate charged.

Minimum Amount Due (MAD) - The minimum amount due every month is 5% of the billed value, unless there is a default on the payment.

Credit Limit - Credit limit is the maximum credit that you can enjoy on the credit card.

Cash Limit - This is the portion of the credit limit that you can withdraw in the form of cash. Typically, cash withdrawals attract interest from the date of transaction.