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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.
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.
For a comparison list of airline mileage cards, see SpyFind
's Airline Rewards Finder.
Some airline cards have a “use it or lose it” policy, as do many
“travel
rewards” 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
“The ‘car cards,’ for example, tend to be the most generous
reward cards in terms of what percentage rebate you earn -- but
the reward has its limits. The
GM Card lets you earn 5% toward the purchase or lease of one
of its vehicles, but then yields how much you are allowed to
apply to a given vehicle. Only $1,000 in rebate awards currently
can be redeemed on a new Hummer or Corvette, for example, while
$3,000 can be used to purchase a Silhouette minivan”, according
to Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money. See, SpyFind's
Auto Rewards Finder.
If you want more freedom in the type of car you would like to
purchase then consider the
CitiDriver’s Edge Platinum Select Card, which gives you a 1%
rebate, up to $500 per year, toward the purchase of any new or
used car.
You can always swap to another card rebate program after you
have reached the maximum reward to keep the discounts and
continue to charge more.
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.
Get cold hard cash
The easiest way to accumulate true savings is by taking
advantage of no-fee cash-back cards. You will want to choose a
card that gives you at least a full 1% back; such as,
Chase Platinum PerfectCard. Or, 5% to 10% with increased
spending or used with participating merchants and retailers;
such as,
Blue Cash from American Express. See SpyFind's
Cash Rewards Finder.
Also, retail
reward cards, provide higher rates of earning at in-store
shopping. The
Toys R Us Visa, for example, has no annual fee and its 1%
cash back rises to 5% when you use it to make purchases at any
Toys R Us.
With ever increasing gas prices, you can receive higher rates of
earnings at gas stations. Through the
Chase Platinum PerfectCard reward program, cardholders earn
a 3% rebate on all gasoline purchases. See SpyFind's
Gas Rewards Finder, for more.
Entertain yourself
Disney and
Universal have credit cards that give you points toward
theme-park tickets, movies and other great stuff.
For greatest flexibility, the cleanest reward is "cash back"—not
a gift certificate but real, use-anywhere money.
About the author:
James Banks serves as valuable team contributor to the SpyFind
Information Network, SpyFind.com.
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
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