Low interest credit cards come in a few flavors.  If your purpose for a new credit card is to find the best 0% interest introductory rate and you plan on paying off your balance completely during that period, than the ongoing interest rate isn’t as important.  Look for the longest 0% intro period with the lowest balance transfer fees.

Credit card balances should be avoided whenever possible, but if you know you’ll need to carry a balance for a while as you work to eliminate it, you’ll want to find a card with the lowest ongoing rate possible.  While you can still take advantage of long introductory periods (currently the Citi Platinum Select offers 21 months of 0% interest) you’ll want to make sure the ongoing rate after the intro period is still low.

Other factors to pay attention to:

Penalties:  Unforgiving penalty rates will apply if you miss even one payment.  Stay on top of your payments, pay on time, and take advantage of any automatic payment plans your card issuer offers to ensure that at lest your minimum payment is made on time each month.

APR Differences:  The exact same card may carry a different interest rate for two different borrowers.  Credit card companies will take a close look at your credit score and will assign the lowest rates to those with the best credit.  If you have less than perfect credit you can expect to pay more in interest.

Unexpected fees.  Know what you’re up against when it comes to pesky fees.  Foreign transaction fees, cash advance fees, minimum finance charge fees, and over-limit fees can all hit you when you least expect it.