Do you want your card to offer special incentives, rewards or services?

• If you're going to use credit anyway, look for a card that gives something back. For instance, if you like to travel, consider a card that awards you with airline miles for making purchases or carrying a balance. If you plan to buy a car soon, you might find a card that offers a discount on a particular make of vehicle. There are also cards that offer points to be used to purchase all sorts of things at a discount. In other words, there's probably a card that offers some incentive or reward that would be useful to you.
• Don't spend money or carry a balance just to get the "prize." The important thing to remember with incentive cards is that you're spending real money to get those miles, gifts and discounts. If you also pay interest on your charges, you may end up spending more on that "free" plane ticket than you would have if you had bought it directly.

"... you may end up spending more on that "free" plane ticket than you would have if you had bought it directly."Now that you've answered the most important questions, you can shred the card offers that don't meet all your credit criteria, compare the terms (like interest rates, late fees and grace period) on the offers you have left, and choose the ideal card for you.