IBERIABANK MasterCard review

The IBERIABANK MasterCard is an offering from Pulaski Bank. By law all credit card providers are expected to provide disclosures referred to as 'Truth-in-Lending Disclosures'. Although this is provided, most people who apply for credit cards skip reading this, not wanting to wade through all the jargon that this document typically contains. Here we demystify the jargon for the benefit of our visitors in the United States, who're eligible for the IBERIABANK MasterCard.

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Free sign up

The IBERIABANK MasterCard has no annual fee. It's free to sign up for.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Purchases:

The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) in common language is the annual interest rate percentage. With the IBERIABANK MasterCard, the APR can be 7.25 % or 8.25 % or 9.25 %. The rate depends on your creditworthiness. The better credit you have, the lower the interest rate you pay. This is primarily because if you have a better credit rating, you're seen as a lower risk for the bank. On the other hand, if you have poor credit, the bank wants you to pay a higher interest rate. This APR is applicable to balances oustanding as a result of any expenditure you fund with this card.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for cash advances and convenience checks

If you opt for cash advances or convenience checks, the APR is somewhat higher at 8.25 % or 9.25 % or 10.25 % again depending on your credit worthiness. The better your credit, the lower the APR for you. For cash advances you have to pay a 5 % transaction fee. This is a minimum of $5 and a maximum of $100.

Default Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The Default APR is much higher at 22% on all balances. This usually kicks in when you don't pay the minimum amount due on the credit card. This is a very high interest rate to pay and we strongly recommend that you pay atleast the minimum amount due on your credit card.

Credit cards shouldn't be used as a source of finance but purely as a convenience to avoid carrying too much cash and to make use of the discounts that they sometimes get you. In fact to make the best use of credit cards like the IBERIABANK MasterCard, we should pay off the balance in full at the end of each month. That way we save on interest costs and the money saved, boosts our purchasing power.

We highly recommend that you pay off all outstandings at the end of the month even if you have a good credit rating. If you don't you'll pay anywhere between 7. 25 % and 9.25 %

IBERIABank typically provides a 25 day grace period for repaying balances before a finance charge is imposed. Now this finance charge gets applied to the outstanding balance and all new transactions until the new balance is paid off. This makes it very expensive. This is how most credit cards work which is why it's important to use them for their benefits but avoid the pitfalls.

Balance transfer facility

You can transfer an oustanding balance on any credit card you own, to the Iberia Bank MasterCard. This is an excellent facility if it is used with some discipline. Any such balance transfer within three months from the date when your account is opened will be carried forward at 0% APR for the first six billing periods from the posting date of your balance transfer check. Yet, you need to be careful that you don't default on any payments during these six billing cycles. If at the end of any billing period, the minimum amount that is due remains unpaid, then the default rate will kick in. This is a whopping 22 % per year or 1.833333 % per month. This interest rate will continune to apply to all balances on the IBERIABANK MasterCard till you bring the amount to current status after which the regular interest rate will apply.

Other fees that can apply include:

• A late payment fee of $15 for balances below $100, $29 for balances between $100 and $1000 and $35 for balances between $1000 and over.
• If you exceed your credit limit, you pay $35.
• If you send them an insufficient check the fee would be $29.
• For foreign transactions, they charge a 2 % fee.

Overall, this seems like a good offer from Iberia Bank because you get a free balance transfer and there's no membership fee either. Like most credit card you need to be careful using this one to make the best of it. Go here to sign up for it.