This lets you find out what credit will cost you before you are charged any fees. If a card issuer calls and takes your application for a card over the telephone, and there is a fee for the card, the card issuer must verbally give you the required information at that time. If there is no fee for the card, or if the fee isn't imposed until you actually use the card, the card issuer can mail you the required information instead of telling you over the phone. You must receive the information within 30 days but no later than the delivery of the card. If there is an annual renewal fee for a card you must be given an opportunity to cancel the card if you don't wish to pay the fee.
Many people use the two terms interchangeably, but there are important differences.
In general, a credit card permits you to make purchases for which you are billed later. Most credit card accounts permit you to carry a balance from one billing cycle to the next, though you have to pay interest on that balance. Usually, you have to pay at least a certain amount of your balance each time you receive a bill. A charge card is a specific kind of credit card. The balance on a charge card account is payable in full when the statement is received and cannot be rolled over from one billing cycle to the next.