If you're relying on your credit card in times of record-high inflation, make sure you do this

There's no doubt that consumers are feeling the financial squeeze of rising prices just about everywhere this year. The latest Consumer Price Index data reports that inflation rose 9.1% from a year ago in the month of June.

Given the higher cost of everyday goods and services, many have turned to credit cards as a crutch to help them get by. While credit cards can certainly help in a pinch since you don't have to pay upfront like you would with cash or a debit card, depending on them all the time is not a great idea.

If you find yourself relying on them in today's tumultuous economic climate, make sure you're at least paying your monthly bill on time — even if it's just the minimum amount required — so your account stays current, in good standing and you don't incur any late fees or penalty APRs.

Your payment history, or whether you've paid past credit accounts on time, is the most important factor when it comes to achieving a good credit score, making up 35% of your credit score calculation. Set up autopay with each credit card you use to ensure a payment deadline never gets missed.

In addition to paying your bills on time, we'd also recommend always paying them in full so you don't carry a balance each month. Since credit cards charge notoriously high interest rates, which are only expected to keep climbing, it's easy to dig yourself into debt quickly with a revolving balance.

Today's record-high inflation rate may very well make it more difficult to pay off your credit card balance in full by the end of your billing cycle — after all, that's probably why you're using credit cards as payment in the first place, to delay having to fund your purchases right away.

In this case, it's best to use a credit card that offers an interest-free period on new purchases, which allows you to buy the things you need while giving you more time to pay them off at no additional cost. For example, you can charge groceries and gas with a 0% APR card to get them now and still have a certain amount of time to collect the funds and fully pay them off.

The key to doing this, however, is only stretching out a purchase for as long as the introductory interest-free period lasts. Any remaining balance you have left after this period will incur interest at the regular rate, which could counteract any savings you received during the interest-free period.

The no-annual-fee U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card offers one of the longest zero-interest introductory periods on new purchases — with the deadline following your first 18 billing cycles (after, 19.49% - 29.49% variable APR), cardholders have almost two years to pay off any purchases they make today, interest-free.

Another great option for those looking to score 0% financing and earn more for their spending is the no-annual-fee (see rates and fees) Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, which gives cardholders more than a year — the first 15 months from the date of account opening, to be exact — to pay off new purchases with 0% APR (after, 18.99%-29.99% variable APR; see rates and fees). Balance transfers must be requested within 60 days of account opening and there's a balance transfer fee that's either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer (whichever is greater).

Not only that, American Express recently relaunched its Blue Cash Everyday Card's rewards program to allow cardholders to earn more cash back on gas and online purchases, as well as statement credits for Disney+ bundle subscriptions, among other perks. Terms apply.

If you're already carrying a credit card balance — hey, this year has been quite expensive — consider applying for a balance transfer credit card, which lets you transfer your outstanding balance and pay it off without accruing any additional interest during an introductory 0% APR period. As if credit card debt wasn't already expensive, the reality is it's getting more costly as the Federal Reserve continues raising rates which will likely increase your credit card's APR.

Both the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card and the Citi Simplicity® Card — two no-annual-fee cards — offer 0% intro APR for 21 months from date of first transfer on balance transfers (after, 17.99% - 28.74% and 18.99% - 29.74% variable APR, respectively). For both cards, the balance from your old credit card must be transferred within four months of account opening.

If you happen to have a large amount of credit card debt, it usually makes sense to pay a balance transfer fee, however it's smart to run the numbers before you initiate a balance transfer to make sure the fee you're paying is less than what you would otherwise have to pay in interest.

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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, click here.