Rewards Credit Cards – Reward Offers
Rewards credit cards reward cardholders for using the card. In essence, the issuer offers you a financial incentive to buy and use them. The incentive is offered in terms of rebates, store discounts, points that can be redeemed for specific purposes and airline flyer miles.
Choosing the rewards credit card that offers the rewards best suited to your needs is using your credit and your finances optimally.
Frequent Flyer Miles>
It makes good sense for frequent air travelers to use a reward credit card that offers frequent flyer miles as a reward. These credit cards offer you points based on the amount of money you spend and the amount of airline miles you may purchase using that card. The best rewards credit cards offer you bonus points after initial purchases. If you have good credit, you can easily get a rewards credit card with a 0% introductory APR.
Cash Back Rewards
Cash back rewards give you bonus cash each time you use the rewards credit card at supermarkets, gas stations, etc. That way your rewards credit card gives you the option to spend the money as you please. The best rewards credit cards give up to 5% cash back and a 0% APR for up to 12 months. And to qualify for this type of card offer, you’ll need to have pretty good credit.
Some rewards credit cards give you the benefit of choice. You can choose either frequent flyer miles or cash back depending on your preference.
The very best rewards credit cards give you up to 6% back on purchases and gas rebates. But those offers are few and far between. Very good travel insurance, accident insurance and auto rental insurance are some of the other perks you can expect.
Entertainment Focused Rewards Credit Cards
Some credit cards cater to people who frequent movie halls, restaurants and generally go out a lot. Special offers and promotions are also offered to the owners of these rewards credit cards. Backstage passes, free music downloads and guest benefits are only some of the ways owners of this type of rewards credit card will benefit.
When applying for rewards credit cards remember that the best rewards credit cards are unique for each individual. Remember to take into account carrying costs of the card as well as details like the method of calculating interest. With the right homework and the right rewards credit card you may find yourself being able to take that perfect vacation…
Watch the video related to credit card rewards
www.JustCardOffers.Com Find out where to get the best credit card gas rebates and rewards. With no annual fees and a low APR this is the best way to earn cashback benefits with your purchases.
Help answer the question about credit card rewards
What is a great rewards credit card for someone who pays it off every month?I'm looking for a credit card with a good rewards program for someone that pays off their bill each month in full. I dislike Air Miles (too many restrictions for flights). Basically what card gives you more bang for your spending?
Sorry guys, I forgot to add I live in Canada!
May 28th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Preferred Rewards Gold Card from American Express
MasterCard from American DreamCard
Another type of popular reward credit card is the type that give you points for every purchase you make using that card. Once you have accumulated enough points, you can redeem them for items and other cool things. Some cards will have limits as to how many points you can receive, which again makes it your best interest to shop around.
No matter where you look, there is always a credit card company that is offering reward programs with their credit cards. New ones pop up all the time, making it sound too good to turn down. Even though they may sound great, you may wonder if the rewards are truly worth it. In some cases they are, although in others they may not be quite as good as you would like.
No matter where you look, finding the right credit card reward card can take some time and effort. You may have no problems finding the card to fit your needs, and if you do, you should consider yourself lucky. Before you choose your card however – you should always take the necessary time to read the fine print and compare what each unique company has to offer you.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
The Citi Dividend Card is good. 5% back on gas, groceries and drugs, as someone else already mentioned.
I want to recommend another one, and a strategy for it. The Citi Platinum Select Mastercard is currently offering 0% on Balance Transfers for 12 months, with no transfer fee. Here's the best part, if you ask them, they'll just cut you a check for it and mail it to you. I just did this today, and they are sending me $20,000.
I'm going to take this money and put $15K in a 5.45% 11-month CD at my credit union. With the rest, I will open a high interest online savings account, with whatever bank is offering the best rate at that moment. Right now, they are at 5.05%, but Emigrant Direct is expected to raise it to 5.15% soon. I'll use this money to earn interest and to make the monthly minimum payments. The way I figure it, I'll make about $900 in interest in that year, using nothing but Citibank's money.
There are 3 big things to watch out for if you do this:
1. You cannot use that card for anything else until that balance transfer is paid off. Nothing. Otherwise your monthly payments go to pay off the 0% balance only, and not the balance on purchases with higher interest rates.
2. You absolutely must pay your minimum payment every month, on time! You can't give them any excuse to say you violated the agreement so they can raise the rate to 18% or whatever it will be.
3. You absolutely must pay back 100% of that balance transfer by that 12 month mark. Otherwise, they'll hit you for interest, possibly dating back to the beginning.
4. Your FICO score will take a hit, as you increase your ratio of debt to available credit. If you are planning a major credit purchase, like a house or car this year, you may not want to do this.
Below are links to that offer and also to a site which shows what banks are paying the best interest at the moment.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
From what I've noticed, Master Card seems to offer the best rewards (for variety) overall. http://mbna.com has a pretty good program.
For charity, have you signed up for Upromise? http://www.upromise.com/ – shop through them either online or in stores and you earn a percentage back as a rebate. I am keeping mine in the fund for my kid's college education, but you can also specify giving to charity from there. It doesn't cost a thing. You register your credit cards and store discount cards with them so you'll get credit in your account for the sales.
I believe that http://ebates.com/ has a similar option in their shopping portal network program, and again it doesn't cost you anything.
This would be a way to maximize the charity over and beyond your credit card's rewards.
You might also be interested in http://cutouthunger.org/
Hope it helps!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Actually, the ideal number of cards to have is 3. Keep balances low. I usually recommend keeping a balance – but a very low one. Make a 10$ purchase once a month and pay the balance down. Cancelling accounts does hurt your score temporarily. It's better to keep the accounts open – for one, it doesn't hurt your score like closing it will. for another, the average age of your accounts keeps getting more recent (which also has a negative impact on your score).
Clearly, your credit is not in that bad shape, but I wouldn't sacrifice points just so I could get a day-planner or whatever the 'rewards' are.
Good luck!
May 30th, 2009 at 4:10 am
It sounds like Card #1 is the American Express Blue Cash card. I'm quite familiar with that card's reward structure.
Assuming your monthly spending is even across the 12-month period, then you should go with Card #1 (AmEx Blue Cash). Here's why: Your average rewards for supermarket spending with card #1 will be 3% (i.e. (5% + 1%) / 2), while your average rewards for supermarket spending with card #2 will only be 2%. Your average rewards percentage on all non-supermarket/gas/drug spending for both cards will be 1%.
Note, however, that to really know the optimal card for you for certain, you should take into account your entire categorical spending profile (including gasoline spending, drug store spending, and any other special rewards categories with either card).
You might find that this credit card rewards calculator is helpful to you:
http://www.creditcardtuneup.com/
May 30th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
cardnow.undonet.com – try this one. You can compare different credit cards and choose the best one for you.
May 31st, 2009 at 7:26 am
I have the Chase Freedom card.. it gives you three percent cash back on the placed where u spend the most each month.. ive had it for a few months and i really like it
May 31st, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I absolutely love my Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards. The rewards are superb.
Your Next Vacation Is Even Closer With the Most Popular Rewards Card. Earn miles on purchases and redeem them for flights on any airline, with no seat restrictions. Fly anytime you want, including holidays.
This card has no annual fee, a 0% introductory rate that can be applied to purchases until July 2008, and an average interest rate for purchases and balance transfers once the introductory rate expires.
Through the Capital One No Hassle Rewards program, cardholders earn 1% cash back on purchases, and they earn a 25% bonus on all cash earned in the previous year. Also, cardholders earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent on all purchases. There is no limit to the amount of cash back that can be earned, no minimum required to redeem for cash, and no expiration date. Miles are redeemable for flights on any airline with no blackout dates, gift certificates, cash, and merchandise. Miles can also be donated to participating charities.
You may read the great review here:
http://www.rewardcreditcardsite.com/travel-rewards-credit-cards/capital-one-no-hassle-miles-sm-rewards-excellent-credit/
Other Airline Rewards Credit Cards:
http://www.rewardcreditcardsite.com/airline-reward-credit-cards/
May 31st, 2009 at 10:56 pm
There are credit cards that offer 1.5% – 2.0% rewards on all spending. For example, the Capital One No Hassle Miles Ultra for Professionals earns nearly 2% rewards on all spending, but the rewards have to be redeemed on airline tickets. Also, the Fidelity Investments Rewards Signature Visa earns 1.5% cash back on all spending.
You can use this rewards calculator to see which credit card will pay you the most for a given spending profile:
http://www.creditcardtuneup.com/
Incidentally, on the left hand side of that CreditCardTuneUp page toward the bottom, there's a blurb you might be interested in about BigCrumbs being able to save you 36% off your Ebay fees.