Your Money : It’s to Your Credit to Be Skeptical of Certain Cards

American consumers, hold on to your pocketbooks.

The annual credit card marketing blitz is underway, which means millions upon millions of consumers are going to be getting offers they ought to refuse.

Over the course of the next month, literally millions of “preapproved” credit card solicitations will be sent to virtually anyone who doesn’t have a seriously marred credit history. Legions of telemarketers will rev up their automatic dialers, verbally catching those who don’t get dozens of card offers in the mail--and many who do.

In today’s hotly competitive credit-card market, the offers include plenty of freebies--Bank of America credit-card solicitors give away radios, and Blockbuster Visa promises free video rentals. But they also may include some misleading descriptions of what you get when you accept a card.

Consumers who may want to switch--there are plenty of attractive offers among the bad--will have to be on their guard to determine just which is which.

“Unfortunately, what you see isn’t necessarily what you get,” says Ruth Susswein, executive director of BankCard Holders of America, a consumer group headquartered in Herndon, Va.

A bank that advertises a low “fixed-rate” in bold print, for example, may mention in much smaller type that the fixed rate lasts but a few short months, Susswein notes. Cardholders who are encouraged to pay bills with “convenience checks” drawn on the credit card may not be aware that this cash advance could trigger a series of lofty fees and be subject to interest rates that are far higher than the rate for regular charges.

Meanwhile, the “preapproved” stamp on the two dozen credit solicitations in your mailbox means nothing more than that you’ve passed an initial “screen.” Qualifying for the high credit limits that most such offers advertise requires a much harder test that many preapproved consumers fail.

The good news is that all the unattractive details are disclosed. You just have to be disciplined to find them. What should you look for? The disclosure box.

On the second page of nearly every credit card solicitation is a box, titled “important disclosures” or “information on fees and terms”--or something similar. This box, full of tiny print, lists all the caveats of your credit card offer, often dismantling the big-print promises located elsewhere.

Consider, for example, the preapproved Blockbuster card, which advertises a 6.9% annual rate.

Although the offer mentions--in big bold type--the 6.9% rate no less than nine times, just once--in the disclosure box--does it say that this rate is only good for six months. At that point, the credit card reverts to a variable rate based on prime plus 9.9%. In today’s market, that would boost the interest rate to 18.65%.

In addition, the disclosure box includes a huge caveat about your preapproved status. Specifically, it says you got the offer because a prequalifying report indicated you might satisfy the company’s credit criteria. “If, after you respond, we find that you do not meet the criteria . . . the credit may not be extended.”

So much for the: “Congratulations! You’ve been preapproved.”

Still, if your current credit cards have high interest rates or require the payment of annual fees, there’s a very good chance that one of the preapproved offers that hit your mailbox this year could provide you with real savings.

However, to evaluate the best deal, you need to consider how you use the card. If you use credit cards mainly for convenience, paying off the balance each month, look for a card with no annual fee and freebies that you value.

If this type of user is a video buff, for example, the Blockbuster card might fit the bill. There’s no annual fee, and you earn “Blockbuster bucks” for free movie and video game rentals when you charge. And the high interest rate is inconsequential as long as you pay off the balance before the due date.

If, on the other hand, you carry a balance, concentrate on the interest rate rather than the giveaways, says Susswein. Most people who carry balances will pay far more in interest charges than they’d ever get back from rebates, frequent flier miles, waived annual fees or free videos.

Kathy M. Kristof welcomes your comments and suggestions for columns but regrets that she cannot respond individually to letters and phone calls.

Message kristof@news.latimes.com on the Internet.