Everywhere we look there is a different credit card being advertised, each day it seems a new one is being released that claims to offer better perks than the previous one. When receiving an offer through the mailbox is it wise to sign and return?

The first thing to remember is all those offers you receive through the mail may not be good for you, the provider of those offers has not assessed your finances and the limit offered is likely to be changed if you apply.

Also if you sign and send all the application forms you receive back, they will appear on your credit report and could have a terrible effect on your credit rating.

 Providers decide if you can afford their products based on your credit report, if it appears you already have 4-5 credit cards they may think you can not afford their card, this leading to your application being rejected.

It is also worth considering if you get accepted for every application will you be able to stop spending on the cards? Will you be able to afford monthly repayments? If you can not answer yes to both these questions you could be putting yourself at risk of getting into financial difficulty.

Whilst it is tempting to simply sign and return the application form the long term affects of this action could be damaging.