Credit card companies continue to anger and frustrate customers with higher fees and ever-changing terms and conditions. At times it seems like every other statement has something else enclosed to revise the terms and conditions yet again.

Wonder where you might go for a better deal? Although it may come as a surprise to some, credit unions almost always offer better credit card deals than the big banks.

One of the major advantages of a credit union is that they are non-profit entities and are actually owned by their members. Consequently, credit unions are often able to offer better deals for their customers. The fact that the interest rates they charge on the cards they issue are capped by regulators also helps keeps fees more reasonable.

Although these facts may send some credit card customers scrambling to open an account with the nearest credit union, there are some caveats to consider.

It’s important to note that not all credit unions offer credit cards. Since about half of the nation’s credit unions do not offer credit cards, you may not have one in your area that does.

Being a member of a credit union does not automatically qualify you for a credit card, however. You still have to go through the application process and be approved before a card will be issued.

Credit cards issued by credit unions often don’t include perks like reward programs, but speaking from personal experience, the credit card issued by my credit union does indeed include a rewards program. If you have competing credit unions that you are eligible to join, you probably want to compare their offers.

Although you may have heard, or even experienced some of the outrageous interest rates imposed by big bank credit cards, credit cards issued by federally chartered credit unions are capped at 15 percent, but can be raised as high as 18 percent due to economic conditions such as the current recession. Credit unions that are not federally chartered are regulated by the state they operate in, but rates are generally below 18 percent.

For a quick comparison, a 2009 study by The Pew Charitable Trusts found that the average interest rate that banks charge on credit cards we between 12.2 percent and 17.9 percent, while rates on cards issued by credit unions averaged between 9.9 percent and 13.8 percent.

Rates are not guaranteed to be lower at credit unions. You may find a better deal from a bank when compared to what is being offered by credit unions in your area. The interest rate that you pay on a card issued by a credit union is subject to adjustment depending on your credit history, just as it will with a bank-issued card.

Fees tend to be lower with cards issued by credit union when compared with banks. The average fee for exceeding your credit limit is about $40 at most banks, but only about $20 at most credit unions. Banks also tend to a fee for a balance transfer, while only about 25 percent of credit unions impose those kinds of fees.

Cash advance fees also differ between banks and credit unions. Banks average between 20.2 and 21.2 percent, while credit unions average between 10.2 and 13.8 percent.

Some credit unions charge a fee to open an account. Most of the time these fees are very reasonable, oftentimes under $1, but some may go as high as $50.

As someone who has been doing all his banking with a credit union for over a decade, I can say without hesitation that I find the fees and service much better than I did when I had my account at a big bank. My experience with my credit union has been very positive and it hard to think of ever taking my banking business back to a traditional bank.

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