Beware Too-Good-to-Be-True Credit-Card Offers

This is a tale of two solicitations for credit cards with no annual fee. The lesson to be learned: Surprises may lurk in all. One credit card offer, from Bank of America, is riddled with fees and catches. Our other credit-card solicitation, from Capital One, appears to be a "no-hassle" deal.

A chief drawback to the Bank of America offer: You don't even know whether your interest rate will be 7.9%, 13.99% or 19.99% before you apply. It's "based on your creditworthiness."

There's up to a 29.99% rate if you pay late or exceed the credit limit. That's on top of the late-payment fee, which can range from $15 to $39, based on your outstanding balance. There's even a minimum $10 fee for balance transfers and if you use the credit card to purchase lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, money orders and foreign currency or travelers checks "from a non-financial institution." In addition it charges a 3% transaction fee for any transaction made in foreign currency.

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