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These days, credit card issuers are offering some extremely enticing deals to very well-qualified consumers. In order to get one of these cards, though, you need to have excellent, or blemish-free, credit. If that describes your credit situation, then congratulations for all of your hard work maintaining superb credit.

Consider this comparison, below, of some of the more popular credit cards for excellent credit, and choose the one that matches your needs.

Make no mistake, getting the best credit doesn’t require a Ph.D. in economics, but it does require the ability to make good financial decisions over time. For those who need to improve their credit to get one of these credit cards for excellent credit, the benefits are certainly worth the effort it’ll take to turn your credit around. Those benefits include tangible and predictable things like more attractive credit offers and better interest rates on loans, as well as intangible benefits like how future employers and landlords perceive your financial reputation. Ultimately, good credit should be everyone’s goal, because you never know when it’ll become valuable to you.

So, in a nutshell, what steps should you take to get excellent credit? First, you need to establish some sort of credit. It may seem odd to some, but you need to get credit to get more credit. If you want a bank to extend a new loan or line of credit to you, you need to demonstrate that you’ve responsibly handled your previous debts. The way most companies establish this is by looking at how you use credit.

So, how do you get credit? Well, if you’re a college student, chances are you have already received some pre-approved offers for credit cards. A recent study found that “68 percent of students under 21 reported receiving credit card offers in the mail.” If you’ve received one of these offers, make sure to read all the terms and conditions (credit issuers are required to put all pertinent information in a Schumer Box which is printed on the application, or placed on any online application) before applying. Also, know that just because you receive these offers, it doesn’t guarantee approval, or mean these cards will be the ideal match for you. It also might be that a secured card, requiring a deposit, is the best fit for those new to credit, because it reduces your risk of going into debt. For those who have good credit, it’s wise to get a credit card that meets your spending habits, and that you can grow with. And for those consumers with poor or bad credit, a secured credit card that reports to all three major credit bureaus is recommended.

Once you’ve established clean credit, how do you improve it? The easy answer is to keep balances low and pay off all credit card balances on or before they’re due, each month. This means that you don’t use more than 30 percent of your balance each month. And if you’re already using more than 30 percent across your balances, set a plan to pay down the balance with the highest interest first, saving you the most money in interest, and reducing the time it’ll take to get below 30 percent utilization.

Remember: The credit card details contained in this comparison chart are considered accurate as of 6/29/2012, and may not be accurate after this date. Since interest rates and offers change frequently, it’s always best to read all current Terms and Conditions agreements for any card you are considering. These can often be found on the credit card application, which you can access from this web page.