More than 6 billion credit-card offers were mailed to Americans last year. That’s a record. With so much competition for your attention, credit card companies are coming up with new come-ons to entice you toward their pieces of plastic.

If you need a new card, focus on the fine print and on the prominent “disclosure box” that – by law – must accompany every offer. There, you’ll probably find the less-than-advantageous aspects of the pitch. For example:

¢ The annual percentage rate. The APR that applies to purchases is listed at the top of the disclosure box, but that’s not the only applicable rate. You also should note the rates you’ll be charged for cash advances, balance transfers and other transactions. Because payments often are allocated to pay off lowest-rate balances first, teaser rates that apply to both balance transactions and new purchases are the best deals. Don’t overlook the default APR, which can kick in if you make late payments, exceed your credit limit or if your credit score drops based on your relationship with other lenders. An offer we received in May for Chase’s Visa Platinum card threatened a jump in APR from 8.99 percent to 31.49 percent for just such a slipup.

¢ Fees for all occasions. For balance transfers, you usually pay a 3 percent fee up to a specified cap – in our Chase offer, $75. Yet a few major issuers are eliminating caps for some cards, meaning that a $10,000 transfer, for instance, would cost you $300. Late fees also are a danger, accounting for 70 percent of the $16.4 billion in penalty fees that U.S. cardholders paid last year, according to R.K. Hammer Investment Bankers.

¢ The grace period. This is the number of days you have to pay your bill from the end of the last billing cycle until interest charges accrue. Our Chase offer granted a vague “at least 20 days.” You should look for a card stipulating 25 days.

Bottom line: You shouldn’t limit yourself to offers that arrive in your mailbox.