Learn what the best rewards credit cards are and get tips on how best to use your rewards credit cards to make sure you get the most cash or other rewards from your credit cards.
Money Girl
179 MG The Best Rewards Credit Cards
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It's the perfect time to experience the quality and reliability that has made Dickies a trusted name for over a century. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to MoneyGirl's Quick and Dirty Tips for a richer life. I'm Laura Adams. Having a rewards credit card in your wallet can be a powerful tool to maximize your spending. But how do you know if you're getting the most rewards possible? In this post, I'll tell you what the best rewards credit cards are and I'll give you tips for using them to your advantage. I'm a huge fan of rewards credit cards. I use one to pay for just about everything from everyday purchases to household bills. When you use a rewards card responsibly and pay off your balance in full each month, you get to take full advantage of the rewards without having to pay any interest charges or late fees. The idea of using rewards credit cards is to get benefits for purchases that you're going to make anyway, not to buy more than your budget allows or to buy extra stuff just for the rewards. So my advice is not to change your spending habits. Just change your payment habits. Want to know the real secret to getting the most out of a rewards credit card? It's simple. Get a card that matches your spending. Where you shop, what you buy, and how much you spend are all factors to consider when you're choosing a rewards credit card. The more qualified purchases you can rack up, the more cash or points you'll get back to spend. On average, you can expect to get a reward that's about 1 to 2% of what you charge on a rewards credit card each year. For example, if you spend $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year, you might get a total reward that's worth $120 to $240. But it varies depending on the card program, how much you charge, and how savvy you are about redeeming your rewards. It's really important to clearly understand all the benefits of a rewards program so you can work it. There's a huge selection of rewards credit cards to choose from, especially if you have good credit. You can do a search for the best reward credit card offers at sites like creditcards.com, bankrate.com, and creditcardguide.com. Here are a few cards that offer the best cashback rewards right now. The Chase Freedom Card offers 5% cashback for purchases in categories like gas and department stores, and 1% back on everything else with no annual fee. The Discover More Card offers 5% back for purchases and categories that change each quarter, like travel, home, apparel, gas, restaurants, and movies, and 1% on all other purchases with no annual fee. The Blue Cash American Express Card offers 5% back for purchases in categories like gas, supermarkets, and drugstores, and 1.25% back on everything else after you spend $6,500 in a calendar year. Before you spend $6,500, the reward is up to 1% cashback. So with this card, the more you spend the better. It also comes with numerous buyer protection services and has no annual fee. Here are two cards with great point-based rewards. The Bank of America Accelerated Rewards American Express Card offers 1.25 points for all purchases. You earn unlimited points for unrestricted travel, gift cards, merchandise, cashback, and more. This card comes with numerous buyer protection services and has no annual fee. And the Chase Sapphire Card allows you to earn two points for airfare and one point for all other purchases. You earn unlimited points that never expire and can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, merchandise, cashback, and more with no annual fee. You'll find links to these cards on the blog at moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com. Use the following 10 tips to get the most from your rewards card. Number one, earn rewards where you spend the most money. Choose a card that will earn rewards at the stores where you shop or for the types of products that you buy frequently, like groceries, gas, or airline tickets. Number two, earn rewards for items that you want or need. Cash rewards give you the most flexibility. However, some rewards cards allow you to earn points for a Disney vacation, hotel stays, discount retailers, or concerts, for instance. Kendra manages your payroll. She's also six weeks pregnant. Maybe it's time for a group dental plan with extra TLC for moms to be. Grin from within, United Concordia Dental. Learn more at grin with ucd.com products under written by United Concordia Insurance Company. I love learning and anything that makes learning easier. If you're a parent and your child needs some homework help, then Ixcel is a right for your family. Ixcel is an online learning program for kids covering math, language arts, science, and social studies. Ixcel has interactive practice problems for topics from pre-k to 12th grade and everything is organized by grade and subject. As kids practice, they get positive feedback, awards, and explanations for wrong answers. Ixcel figures out what your kids need more help with and recommends more topics to practice. Their videos, lessons, sample problems, and learning games, too. One subscription to Ixcel gets you all subjects and all grade levels. Membership started just $9.95 a month. It's no wonder Ixcel is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. I think the positive feedback that Ixcel gives is really crucial when it comes to learning. So make an impact on your child's learning. Get Ixcel now, and money girl listeners can get an exclusive 20% off Ixcel membership when they sign up today at ixl.com/moneygirl. Visit ixl.com/moneygirl to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. This episode is brought to you by AARP. 10 years from today, Lisa Schneider will trade in her office job to become the leader of a pack of dogs as the owner of her own dog rescue that is. A second act made possible by the reskilling courses Lisa's taking now with AARP to help make sure her income lives as long as she does. And she can finally run with the big dogs and the small dogs who just think they're big dogs. That's why the younger you are, the more you need AARP. Learn more at aarp.org/skills. Number three, get a card with no annual fee and the lowest interest rate possible. This will increase the value of your rewards and cost you less if you have to carry a balance from month to month. However, paying an annual fee can make sense if you earn more than enough rewards to offset the cost. Number four, stay alert to rewards expiration dates. If you earn points that have to be redeemed by a certain date, be sure to put a reminder on your calendar so you don't lose them. Number five, limit the number of rewards cards you have. If you earn rewards on just one or two cards, it'll be easier to keep up with their benefits so you can maximize your rewards. Number six, read the rewards terms carefully before you apply for a card. There may be restrictions such as limitations on purchase categories, tiered rewards, caps on the amount of rewards, or time limits on when you can earn rewards. Seven, consider a card's additional free benefits. Extra offers like travel insurance, extended product warranties, and other buyer protections may make one card a better deal for you than another. Number eight, take advantage of bonus programs. Some rewards cards offer discounts or extra points or travel miles when you shop with their merchant partners or through their online shopping malls. Always review the partner offers before you make a big purchase so you don't miss any discount opportunities. Number nine, stay up to date on program offers. Sign up to receive program email notifications and limited time offers. Getting the most out of your rewards program will mean spending a little time managing it, but it's well worth it. And ten, find the price of the reward you want. Redeeming points for merchandise or airline tickets may not be the most economical way to make those purchases. Be mindful of the real value of what you're getting and don't overpay just because you're spending points unless they're about to expire, that is. A final quick and dirty tip is that rewards cards usually don't have the lowest interest rates. So if you carry a balance from month to month, don't use a rewards credit card. Paying an interest rate that's higher than necessary would wipe out the value of your rewards and extend the time it'll take you to pay off the balance. Be sure to visit my new blog at smartmoves2growrich.com. 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