Fixed-rate credit cards can change their terms in a few weeks' time, so there's no real protection from rate increases with a fixed-rate card, although my anecdotal observation is that fixed-rate cards tend to lag behind variable-rate cards in both rising and falling interest-rate environments.

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If your credit rating is good enough to qualify for a low-rate credit card, possibly even a zero percent introductory rate, transferring all your higher rate credit card balances could be a good option.

Many consumers are unaware of the damaging effects of inquiries.

They’ll tell you that a low, fixed-rate card is better than a variable rate credit card that starts low and then slowly creeps up its interest rate every year.