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Reward Credit Cards: Get the Best Rewards Card Incentive
Program
A good credit reward card can contribute to your retirement
account, offer gas rebates, score theme-park or vacation tickets
or take thousands off the price of your next auto purchase.
Rewards at hotels, airlines, and retailers bring more to the
possibilities but, adds to the confusion. Here are some tips to
find the best reward programs for you to increase your buying
power.
Who should apply for reward cards?
It used to be that if you pay off your balance each month, reward
cards are definitely worth considering. But now, many have come
out with very competitive interest rates below 10 percent, so if
your credit is good enough to qualify, you need not necessarily
discount a rewards card, unless it hinders you from paying down
your balance in any way.
Invest some time to maximize payoff
Anyone who wants to get the best deal must patiently compare
offers, then manage them consistently afterwards. Scrutinize
spending to give maximum rebate value for the dollar.
Calculate your spending to make the rewards
worthwhile
If you charge $3,000 a year on a card that costs $45 annually,
for example, it will take over 6 years to earn a free airline
ticket with most cards. In that time, you will have paid $270 in
fees -- enough to buy a discounted air ticket on your own.
Flyer miles
Frequent-flier miles were the first comers of the rebate
credit cards. They typically value at 1% to 2% rebate or one mile
per dollar spent, so choose the ones that offer the highest
return.
Some airline cards have a "use it or lose it" policy, as do
many travel or hotel rewards. If it will take you a
long time to earn your reward, you will want to make sure it will
be there for you. American Express, for example, has programs
that never expire and provides miles that, can be used on a
number of different airlines. If you travel different airlines
but need a Visa or MasterCard (accepted by more merchants), you
can choose a bank-issued "travel awards" card.
About auto rewards
Car rewards tend to be the most generous in terms of what
percentage rebate you earn but has its limitations. For example,
if you earn 5% toward the purchase of a vehicle, but only on
select vehicles. You can always exchange to another card rebate
program after you have reached the maximum reward to keep the
discounts and continue to charge more.
Gas rewards
With ever increasing gas prices, you can augment earnings by also
applying for gas reward cards. Cardholders can earn higher
rates on all gasoline purchases.
Entertain yourself
Many theme-parks and attractions; such as, Disney and Universal,
have credit cards that give you points toward tickets, movies and
other great stuff.
Get cold hard cash
The easiest way to accumulate true savings is by taking advantage
of no-fee cash-back cards. To get the most benefit, choose a card
that gives you at least a full 1% back on all purchases. Also
choose a card that comes with retail card benefits where
rates increase 5% to 10% when spending at participating merchants
and retailers.
For a complete comparison list of the tremendous amount
incentive reward card offers to choose from, visit
SpyFind's
Credit Rewards Center to find the ones right for you.
James Banks serves as valuable team contributor to the SpyFind
Information Network. Areas of expertise include both credit and
financial advice. To view more related material, vist SpyFind's Credit
Center,
http://www.spyfind.com/credit.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News
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