(MONEY Magazine) – THIS MONTH:

--Rating the top 25 card issuers --Eight things you need to know about your credit card

If you don't read your junk mail closely, you may have missed just how much the credit-card landscape has changed over the past couple of years. Want a super-low rate? Card issuers will oblige (at least, for a limited time). Lust after gold cards? More than half of all solicitations are for them. Want to earn something other than frequent-flier miles for every dollar you charge? Earn points good for rebates at the gas station, supermarket or video store instead. Love Elvis? You can show it with a card that bears the King's visage (from Virginia-based Leader Federal Bank for Savings; 800-874-4707). Today, you have nearly 7,000 kinds of Visas, MasterCards and the like to choose from. Here are more than five dozen great ones (see the facing page), plus tips on how to cut through the hype and zero in on the best deal for you.

--If you always carry a balance, as two-thirds of cardholders do, forget the bells and whistles. Get the lowest available interest rate--period. While the average rate is a sky-high 17.2%, some cards charge as little as 8.25%. (We're talking permanent rates, not the teaser kind that double after the first six months or so.) Most of the super-low-interest cards are offered by small banks in Arkansas, where state usury laws cap rates. See the table on the facing page for the seven lowest-rate cards in the nation, listed in this department every month. The savings can really add up: You'll pay just $157 a year in interest on the typical $1,900 balance with an 8.25% card, vs. $327 with a 17.2% card.

But there's a rub. In most cases, only people with pristine credit histories qualify for the lowest-rate cards. These cards demand cus-tomers who, for example, have a history of paying their bills on time over at least five years or so, haven't opened more than one or two other card accounts in the past six months and haven't changed jobs or addresses lately. If you have good but not immaculate credit, it's more realistic to shoot for a rate of 12% to 14% instead. See the table on page 35 for five low-rate issuers that aren't so demanding. For more choices, write to Bankcard Holders of America for its list of more than 40 low-rate issuers ($4; BHA, 524 Branch Dr., Salem, Va. 24153).

--If you carry a balance that you intend to pay off soon, your best bet may be a teaser-rate card. Introductory rates, which last three months to a year, can run as low as 4.9% but typically jump to 17% to 18% thereafter. (More than two-thirds of the 2.7 billion card offers mailed each year tout teaser rates, so you shouldn't have trouble finding one.) Just follow this strategy: Transfer your balance to a card with a teaser rate and pay down as much debt as possible before the teaser expires. Then switch any remaining balance to a card with a permanent low rate.

When mulling two cards with the same interest rate, go for the one that charges no annual fee. Since the early 1990s, when the AT&T Universal card transformed card pricing by waiving annual fees for life, more than half of card issuers have done away with such fees. (Of course, they've jacked up late fees and other penalties to make up for the lost revenue. For five no-fee cards that don't nickel-and-dime you, see the table on page 35.)

An annual fee is worth paying in only two cases. First, you carry a high balance and can find a card whose rate is so low that even after paying the fee, you'll come out ahead. Or second, you're a big spender who pays his bills in full but covets frequent-flier miles. Cards that reward you with miles almost always impose annual fees of $25 to $85. In most cases, the cards are worth the cost if you charge $25,000 on the card over three to five years, depending on how quickly the miles expire. See the table on page 35 for five of the best frequent-flier cards.

--If you carry a balance sometimes but not always, your best card is one with no fee and a reasonably low rate. (See the table on page 35 for our monthly take on the lowest-rate no-fee cards.) If you ever carry a balance, don't get a rebate card: The interest rate is typically five percentage points more than that of a low-rate card. "The higher rate generally wipes out the value of the rewards," says Robert McKinley, editor of the credit-card newsletter CardTrak of America.

--If you pay off your cards each month, you can safely ignore interest rates and make your choice based on the perks a no-fee card offers--that is, the free gas, toy discounts, new-car rebates, food coupons or just plain cash awarded in return for the dollars you charge. (For examples, see "Rebate Cards That Are Worth the High Price," Your Money Monitor, December 1995.) Look also for such benefits as travel accident insurance, rental-car damage protection, extended manufacturer's warranties and replacement of lost or damaged merchandise.

Generally, the best of these benefits are available only from gold cards, which normally offer a credit line of more than $5,000 and are available to people who earn more than $35,000 a year. Great news: Gold cards rarely impose annual fees anymore. (See the table on page 35 for five no-fee gold cards with excellent perks.) Platinum Visas and MasterCards, the most exclusive of all, come with no annual fee and even more generous extras, such as $1 million worth of travel accident insurance and credit lines of as much as $100,000. If you can qualify and have no trouble paying off your balances, go for it.

--If you've had serious debt troubles within the past few years, don't even think about one of those snobby cards. You'll probably qualify only for a secured card: a credit card backed by a deposit of at least $200 to $500 that you keep at the issuing bank. Use such a card for a couple of years to re-establish good credit; then you'll have a better chance of qualifying for a regular card. Problem is, secured cards almost always impose hefty annual fees of $20 to $60, their rates hardly ever dip below 17%, and many charge application fees of $25 to $100. We've identified five of the least objectionable ones on the table on page 35. Hang in there: The world of Elvis theme cards awaits.

Reporter associate: Genevieve Fernandez