Learning hub

Finance glossary

Plain-English definitions of the credit card and personal finance terms you'll see across our reviews and guides.

Annual fee: The annual fee is a fixed yearly charge some cards apply just for holding the card, regardless of how much you spend — ranging from AED 0 (free-for-life) to several thousand for premium tiers.
APR (Annual Percentage Rate): APR is the yearly interest rate charged on any balance you carry past your credit card statement due date, expressed as a single percentage so cards are comparable.
Balance transfer: A balance transfer moves debt from one credit card to another, usually to take advantage of a temporary low or 0% introductory interest rate on the new card.
Cash advance: A cash advance is withdrawing cash against your credit card limit — one of the most expensive things you can do with a credit card, with no grace period and a separate, higher fee and interest rate.
Cashback: Cashback is a percentage of your card spending returned to you as a statement credit or real money, rather than points you have to redeem through a catalogue.
Credit utilization ratio: Credit utilization is the percentage of your total available credit limit that you are currently using — a key input into your credit score, ideally kept below 30%.
DBR (Debt Burden Ratio): DBR is the share of your monthly income that goes toward debt repayments — UAE banks use it, capped by the Central Bank, to decide how much credit you're eligible for.
Foreign transaction fee: A foreign transaction fee is a surcharge — commonly 2–3.25% — added to any purchase billed in a currency other than your card's home currency, including most online purchases from overseas retailers.
Grace period: The grace period is the interest-free window between your statement date and your payment due date — pay the full statement balance within it and you owe zero interest.
Minimum payment: The minimum payment is the smallest amount you must pay by your due date to keep your account in good standing — it is not the same as paying off what you owe.

Learning hub

Finance glossary

Plain-English definitions of the credit card and personal finance terms you'll see across our reviews and guides.

Annual fee: The annual fee is a fixed yearly charge some cards apply just for holding the card, regardless of how much you spend — ranging from AED 0 (free-for-life) to several thousand for premium tiers.
APR (Annual Percentage Rate): APR is the yearly interest rate charged on any balance you carry past your credit card statement due date, expressed as a single percentage so cards are comparable.
Balance transfer: A balance transfer moves debt from one credit card to another, usually to take advantage of a temporary low or 0% introductory interest rate on the new card.
Cash advance: A cash advance is withdrawing cash against your credit card limit — one of the most expensive things you can do with a credit card, with no grace period and a separate, higher fee and interest rate.
Cashback: Cashback is a percentage of your card spending returned to you as a statement credit or real money, rather than points you have to redeem through a catalogue.
Credit utilization ratio: Credit utilization is the percentage of your total available credit limit that you are currently using — a key input into your credit score, ideally kept below 30%.
DBR (Debt Burden Ratio): DBR is the share of your monthly income that goes toward debt repayments — UAE banks use it, capped by the Central Bank, to decide how much credit you're eligible for.
Foreign transaction fee: A foreign transaction fee is a surcharge — commonly 2–3.25% — added to any purchase billed in a currency other than your card's home currency, including most online purchases from overseas retailers.
Grace period: The grace period is the interest-free window between your statement date and your payment due date — pay the full statement balance within it and you owe zero interest.
Minimum payment: The minimum payment is the smallest amount you must pay by your due date to keep your account in good standing — it is not the same as paying off what you owe.