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Home > Credit Card Articles > Guide to Reward Credit Cards
Reward Credit Card Tips & Guide
These days, credit card companies are competing fiercely for your business. This has created a glut of different type of reward credit cards. Some reward credit cards give you an option of cashing in your reward points for various reward categories they offer. Some only allow you to apply towards one type of reward. So, what do all these rewards mean and what’s the best way to use these rewards? Hopefully, this guide will answer these questions.
MyCreditCard.com Reward Credit Card Tips:
- Read the fine print. It’s important to read carefully the credit cards reward program details. Some sound real good at first glance, but have very strict limits and how, when, and where you can redeem the rewards they are offering, to the point where it benefits the credit card company, more than you, the loyal customer;
- Be wary of reward credit card programs that charge a higher interest rate. If a credit card is offering you a reward that seems too good to be true, it may be. Many times the credit card company will pay for these rewards by charging you a higher interest rate if you’re carrying a balance. Best to pay your balance of every month, then the higher interest rate will not affect you;
- Many rewards don’t kick in until you have spent “up to” a certain amount on the credit card. Again, be careful you read the fine print because many times, especially on cash back reward credit cards, the reward will not kick in, or phase in slowly, until you have spent over a certain dollar limit threshold;
- Understand how much you are really paying for the reward you are receiving. For example, some credit cards may give you a $50.00 gift certificate after spending $10,000 on the card. This really amounts to about a ½% reward. You would be far better off, for example, with a 1% cash back reward. So, again, read, read read;
- Frequent flyer reward credit cards may not be all that great (unless you do a ton of flying.) It takes a lot of spending on your credit card to earn enough miles or points to get a free ticket. Many airlines severely limit the number of tickets on each flight that can be redeemed for lower mileage, like 25,000 miles, and, usually you will pay double miles, like 50,000 miles. Again, you had to likely spend $50,000 on your credit card to get the 50,000 miles. Wouldn’t you rather have 1% cash back, which is $500, than a domestic airline ticket?
- Gasoline reward credit cards can be quite generous, but have their limitations. With the price of gas going up everyday, these types of credit card reward programs are becoming very popular. Just be sure you read the fine print to make sure they you allow you to use these rewards at all gas stations, and don’t just limit it to certain gas stations, in certain locations, and on a particular grade of gas. But at MyCreditCard.com, we have some really great gas reward credit cards, some offering 5% cash back on your gas purchases;
- Watch for add on annual fees with reward credit cards. Just make sure you do not have to spend a bundle to get a decent reward credit card. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of the reward because you are really paying for the reward with the annual fee.
- Watch out for “Reward Limits”. You have probably seen many cards offering rewards, but only up to a certain amount. For example, a 5% cash back gas reward credit card may stop paying once you have reached $200 or $300 in gas purchases. Try to apply for the reward credit cards that have no limit. Many of the cash back reward credit cards will give you unlimited cash back. These are my favorites. Take a look at these great offers on cash back reward credit cards.
- Watch for credit card reward expiration dates. Pretty self explanatory. If you have to redeem your rewards for a gift item or airline tickets, make sure you redeem before posted expiration periods. Usually, you have to use redemption rewards within a specific period of time;
MyCreditCard.com Reward Credit Card Definitions:
- Auto Reward Credit Cards. These are credit cards that partner with auto manufactures. They usually offer higher rewards per dollar spent because the banks are splitting these reward cost with the auto manufacture. For every dollar you spend, you get points that are redeemable to towards the purchase price of a car from a particular auto manufacture, or automobile accessories. Watch for expiration dates on these type of reward credit cards;
- Airline Mile Credit Cards. For every dollar you spend, you will get points that are redeemable to use towards the purchase of airline tickets from various airlines. Some airline reward credit cards are tied to one specific airline, meaning you can only redeem the points on the airline they are allied with. Others allow you to choose from a vast array of airlines. Read the airline mile reward credit card program carefully as these types of credit cards can vary greatly in their restrictions, limitations, & bonuses. For more information about airline mileage credit cards, click here.
- Cash Back Credit Cards. These are perhaps the most straight forward and best type of reward credit cards available. They offer you cash back for each dollar you spend, typically one percent. Most of them have no limit on the amount of cash back you can get in a year. Follow the link to see our great selection of cash back reward credit cards.
- Gas Credit Cards. As discussed above, every time you make a purchase, you get a percentage of that purchase in credit to use to buy gas. Also, many of them will actually give you a higher cash back percent when you use your credit card to purchase gas at a gas station. Many times it’s as high as a 5% cash back on your gasoline purchases. Check the fine print carefully, however, as they may restrict the amount, type, location, grade, etc. See our gas reward credit card offers here.
- Hotel Reward Credit Cards. If you are a frequent traveler that stays in hotels often, this type of reward credit card may be for you. These types of rewards are redeemable for free nights or discount on most major hotels chains. You also earn additional bonus points from the hotels reward programs, so it can be a double whammy bonus of hotel rewards. See more about our hotel reward credit cards..
- Shopping Reward Credit Cards. For those of you who live to “shop till you drop”, these type of reward credit cards give you points towards purchases as numerous retail chain stores, and internet stores as well. With many of them, you also will receive the stores reward programs points as well. For more information about our shopping reward credit cards click here.
- Catalog Reward Credit Cards. These are similar to the shopping rewards credit cards, but can even be more generous because they limit you to spending these rewards in particular catalogues. Typically the catalogues offer great savings anyway, and the rewards can be double to those you would get with other reward programs. Click to see our catolog reward credit cards.
As you can see, there are different types of reward programs that fit everyone’s preference. At MyCreditCard.com, we constantly monitor and try to carry the best reward credit card programs available. Using our tips and this guide, and reading the fine print, you should be able to find the best credit card reward program to fit your needs.
By Woody Alpern
CPA and Registered Investment Advisor
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