Times are tighter than Paris Hilton’s pants — it's vital that you know just how much your expensive credit cards are quietly robbing from you every month.

Now is the perfect time to chuck out the robber credit cards in our wallets and purses.

Here are five things you might be paying for but don’t have to:

  1. Sneaky swiping charges and hazy interest free periods

    This is where credit cards do their sneaky bidding — charging you a fee for swiping the card! Why would you pay extra for the privilege of spending money? Sounds insane to us. Swiping a credit should cost a big, fat nothing!

    And do you know just how long your interest free period is? If you aren’t getting 55 days, you need to get another credit card. Pronto.

  2. Anaemic interest rates for positive balances

    You know the drill — when you have a positive balance your card pays you a paltry two percent, not much better than putting your cash under your mattress. We recommend choosing a credit card that is serious about rewarding you for keeping your money with them. If you aren’t getting 9.5 percent on any size positive balance, you need to cut that card into lots of little pieces.

  3. Holiday robbery

    Many credit card providers add to already costly holiday expenses by nailing you with a R50 (or more) fee each time you withdraw cash overseas. Only when you get your statement do you realise you need another holiday to get over the stress of all these extra charges.

    Make sure you know what you'll be charged for an overseas withdrawal — it shouldn't be more than R8.75, no matter where you are in the world.

  4. Crushing card fees

    Each year millions of unlucky South Africans get charged an annual fee for the pleasure of spending on their banks’ credit cards and to pump up the billions of Rands of profit they make off you. So, why not choose a card that has no annual card fees? Or do you like giving money away?

  5. Loan shark interest rates on debit balances

    Like the mafia, some credit cards charge you close on 30 percent on your outstanding balances while others charge as little as 20.5 percent. That’s a massive saving and why would you want to pay more than you have to for credit?

Are you tired of being ripped off? To compare all credit cards and to find the best deals simply click here.