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Credit Card Rewards Offers

Many cards offer bonuses or rewards, such as earning mileage points with specified airlines, cash back on purchases, or discounts on other services and goods.  These bonuses and rewards can add up to significant benefits if you are a frequent user of such services.  For example, many consumers have credit cards that charge annual fees, but they also earn mileage points for each dollar spent.  Putting all of your purchases onto your credit card can quickly earn you a free airplane ticket.

Today, credit card companies offer a variety of features to attract customers.  Keep in mind that card issuers tend to change their terms and conditions and the rewards associated with their cards frequently.  Before you apply for a credit card, contact the issuer to verify their current offerings.  Aside from that, do your research, as many alternatives exist and at costs that can vary significantly.

Comments (5)
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  1. James said:
    on July 28th at 05:32 am

    One thing to remember with rewards cards is that they come with a price. This may be a higher interest rate, but it may also be things such as a shorter interest free period or an annual fee. You need to spend a long time reading through fine print – as well as paying off your balance promptly.

    That’s why blogs such as this one are so good, as in effect Bankaholic is reading the fine print for you (although you should still read it, it just means that you need to discard less).

  2. gkr said:
    on August 15th at 08:38 am

    For any credit card business they have to make some money. So they give rewards mainly to increase the number of purchases and thus make their share of money.

    As James comments, there can be higher APRs or annual fees for good rewards. But there can also be situations where there are best rewards along with no annual fee, low APR 12% etc. This is possible in cases where there is a condition of minimum number of purchases. After all that is what drives their business. For example, a Marathon gas credit or a Chase Perfect Credit card offer rebates of 10% and 6% respectively on gas purchases for first two and three months respectively. Their annual fee can be waived if you make atleast nine purchases per year.

    There are some cases in which the 5% or so rebate is available during a festival season or any special occasion. This is also to increase the purchases but for a specific type of purchase. That implies they make their money with the product manufacturer under consideration.

  3. hl said:
    on February 22nd at 11:48 pm

    There are many credit cards that offer cash back once you accumulate enough points/rebate typically starting at $25. Persoanlly I am very disappointed with these card because even at 5% cash back I will need to charge at least $500 before I can request a rebate check. Unless you keep using the card if you’ve accumulated rebate but not enough to redeem for the rebate check and decide to use a new card all is lost. I would prefer the cards where the rebate is posted and redeemed every statement period.

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