Choosing the right credit card for you

Critical to building a credit history, credit cards are a rite of passage into financial adulthood.

- NINA DRAGICEVIC

Consider your lifestyle-and where you might use reward benefits - to find the credit card that fits best.

Even if you're debt-phobic or have heard too many horror stories of people maxing out their cards, you can't skip this step.

Cindy Marques, certified financial planner and director at Open Access Ltd., had one client in their 30s preparing to buy a home - while completely missing this piece of the puzzle.

"They went to see if they're eligible for a mortgage, and their (credit) score was non-existent, because they just never had credit cards," Marques said. "And they thought they were doing themselves a favour I never had debt. So this shouldn't be a problem."" Credit cards, however, are impor tant tools to build credit history and maintain a good credit score, Marques added.

Thankfully most of them come with perks too, catering to almost every lifestyle.

Many people default to picking a card from their bank because it's easier, says Shannon Terrell, a finance writer and spokesperson for NerdWallet Canada. But it's better to shop around, especially with online-only banks.