But financing the American Dream by simply charging it comes at a cost. Americans today owe almost a trillion dollars on their credit cards. According to the credit rating bureau Experian, U.S. households on average owe about $8,000 on their credit cards.

Credit card debt increased by more than 50 percent just in the first seven years of the new century, and almost tripled in the last fifteen years. Compare that to the 1930s, when debt was an unknown for most middle and working class families.

More than half of us don’t pay off our credit card balance in full each month. And while the average credit card interest hovers around 14%, that number hides the sobering fact that typical credit card APRs range from 6.99% to 19.99% and the people with the worst credit (and highest credit card debt) generally pay the higher rates.

How to Save 90% with Low Interest Credit Cards

Carrying credit card debt with high interest rates may not seem like a big deal when you pay your credit card bill each month. After all, if you just pay the minimum balance, payments generally are low enough to not put much strain on your finances, compared to the size of the debt carried.

However, take a moment to see what you’re really paying, and you’ll find that the numbers tell a very different tale. Let’s say that you owe $10,000 on your credit cards at 19.99% interest, and you pay the balance off at the minimum of 2% of the balance per month.

At that rate, it will take you more than 83 years to pay off your high interest credit card loan. In that time, you will pay $48,089.38 in interest, almost five times as much as you originally charged. In other words, you’re no longer living the American dream you’re shackled to a heap of debt.

Instead, take a look at the cost of low interest credit cards. On a low interest credit card with a rate of, say 8.99%, it would take 25 years to pay off a $10,000 balance, and you’d pay about $5,000 in interest. That’s almost 90% less interest than you’d pay with the 19.99% interest rate!

Quick Tip: Think that 25 years is still too long to be paying off debt? Keeping your balances on low interest credit cards isn’t the only way to save. How much you pay on your credit cards each month makes a big difference as well.

If instead of paying the minimum payment of 2% per month, you pay 4% of the balance owed each month, you can cut the pay-off time and interest paid by more than half. At that rate, it will take you about 11 ½ years to pay off the balance, and you’ll only pay $2,277.97 in interest.

To see how much you’d save with low interest credit cards, use this convenient calculator from Bankrate.com.

As the name implies, low APR credit cards come with a low annual percentage rate as its main advantage over the long run. Balance transfer credit cards may lure you in with promises of 0% APR, however at the end of the promotional period, that interest typically reverts to a much higher interest rate, as high as 19.99% per year. Many rewards credit cards and cash back credit cards also come with a higher than average interest rate.

Low APR credit cards can save a considerable amount of money over time, and should be the card of choice for people who need to carry a balance on their card from month to month. Low interest credit cards can also be useful instruments for consolidating higher interest loans onto one card with a lower interest rate.

To see the savings power of a low APR credit card, take this example. Let’s say you carry a $5,000 balance on your credit card, which you pay off with the minimum monthly payment every month. For a credit card with a 19.99% APR, it would take you 30 years and 9 months to pay off the balance. In that time you’d have paid $9,464.79 in interest, almost twice as much as the original amount.

In contrast, for a low interest credit card with a 7.9% APR, at the minimum monthly payment it would take 15 years and 4 months and only $1,739.56 in interest to pay off the card. (The moral in both cases? Never pay just the minimum balance on your cards!)

Unfortunately, getting approved for a low APR credit card is not as easy as for a 0% APR balance transfer offer. Many credit card offers promise an APR as low as e.g., 7.99%. However, this is a teaser rate; and unless you have excellent credit, the actual APR you will be approved for will be higher.

The best low APR credit cards include Pulaski Bank Credit Cards and Simmons First Visa Platinum. The Pulaski Bank card offers 0% APR for the first six months and no-fee balance transfers, offers that are increasingly hard to come by.

The Pulaski Bank Credit Card also comes with some of the most forgiving default terms in the industry. If you are late with a minimum payment or if a minimum payment from a preceding billing period remains unpaid, the card will default to a penalty APR of 22%. However, unlike other credit cards, the default rate only stays in effect until the account is brought to a current status, after which it reverts to the low APR.

The Pulaski card does come with a $35 annual fee, but if you carry a balance over an extended period of time, the savings from the lower APR will easily pay for the fee, and then some.

Simmons First Visa Platinum also offers a very competitive APR and it does not come with an annual fee. It charges a higher APR on cash advances and convenience checks along with a 3% cash advance fee. The Simmons First Visa Platinum has a fairly low default APR, which will be triggered if two payments are received late within a six-month period. The penalty APR reverts to the standard APR if the next six consecutive payments are received on time.

Like all forms of credit, you have to earn good terms. You have to have a very good or excellent credit score to get approved for the best low APR credit cards. And with the lowest APR credit cards, you may start out with a low credit limit. However, you can request a credit limit increase once a year and build your credit line over time. For the convenience of inexpensive credit, it can be worth the wait.

How do you know if a low interest credit card is for you? Here are three situations where low interest credit cards are the best option.

1. Choose a Low Interest Credit Card If You Carry a Balance on Your Card from Month to Month

A basic rule of thumb when using credit cards is to pay off the balance in full every month to avoid accumulating expensive interest charges. But let’s face it, there are times when that isn’t possible.

If you have to carry a balance from month to month, a low interest card with an ongoing low APR can save quite a bit of money. For example, a standard credit card with a 19.99% APR will cost $199 in interest per year for every $1,000 you have outstanding on the card. Compare that to $74.90 a year for a low interest credit card with a 7.49% APR. That’s a $125 savings a year for every $1,000 owed!

2. Choose a Low Interest Credit Card for Large Planned Purchases

If you’re planning a large purchase, putting it on a low interest credit card can help you buy it earlier, rather than having to save the money first.

If you use low interest credit card offers wisely, you can often come out ahead. For example, if you use a 7.49% low interest card to buy an item at 25% off, you can pay it off over three years and still break even.

A word of caution: Avoid using low APR credit cards for impulse purchases, as that is a formula for getting deeper and deeper into debt.

3. Choose a Low Interest Credit Card to Consolidate Multiple Card Balances.

Consolidating several high interest credit card balances onto one low interest credit card isn’t just convenient, it translates into significant savings. This occurs because the best low interest credit cards come with an introductory 0% APR on balance transfers, often up to twelve months. When the 0% balance transfer offer expires, you still pay only the low APR that comes with the card.

One final note: To qualify for the best low interest credit card offers, you need to have excellent credit. Credit card issuers always advertise the best rates available, so people with good and fair credit may find that the terms offered after they apply for a low interest credit card are somewhat higher than those advertised. Still, it’s worth applying. Even if you don’t get the lowest rate available, any lower interest card represents a saving.

Generally speaking, you will find the lowest interest rate offers on credit cards that are designed for those with good credit or who can claim a student status. But whatever your situation, if you are paying more than a reasonable amount of interest, finding a lower interest card is a great way to save. It may be possible to negotiate a lower APR with your creditor. But if a credit card company will not offer you a lower rate, consider applying for a new card with a lower interest rate.

Low interest rate offers may apply to an introductory balance transfer rate, an intro purchase rate, or both. Most introductory rates range anywhere from 0 percent to 3.99 percent annually. After the introductory period, many cardholders enjoy APRs below 12 percent.

Check the terms and conditions of a credit card carefully. With a fixed APR, your rate won’t change (and if the credit card company wishes to change your rate, they must notify you first). With a variable APR, your rate may change periodically. This rate is usually closely linked to the national prime rate; when it changes, yours may too. If you plan on carrying a balance, a fixed rate is often the best way to go.

Today, there are plenty of great low interest credit card offers to choose from. We have collected many of the best credit card offers here on this site – enjoy browsing. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of a low interest credit card offer.