If you’re a disciplined credit card user, one of the best credit cards you can get on the market is a cash back credit card, hands down.  With a cash back credit card, it’s almost like you’re getting a sale every time you swipe your card.  Most cards range anywhere from 1% cash back to as much as 20%.  It will all depend who you go with when you apply.

How do you know what kind of card works for you?
It’s not that hard at all when you think about it.  All you’ll want to do is ask yourself a few questions and study your spending habits.  Once you do this, you’ll be able to pick out the perfect card for yourself.  I want you to ask yourself the following questions and see how you answer them.  By the end of the survey, you’ll probably know what card will best suit your needs.

Does the percentage matter?  When I say this, does it matter how much you get back?  Do you want 5% back or 1% back?  It sounds like a silly question but some cards will only give you a certain amount back on particular purchases.

Do you want an easy to use card?  Sometimes the more complicated cards have the best rewards but some cards are straight forward and you’ll know what you’ll get.  So, do you want a card that says you’ll only get 5% back if you spend $500 in 60 days at a gas station or 1% cash back regardless of what you do? 

Where do you spend your money?  Where do you usually spend the most money?  Do you spend it on gas a lot, the grocery store, a little bit of both?  Look at your monthly budget and see where you use your credit card.  You’ll find that some cards allow you to get bonuses on particular purchases like gasoline.

Are you loyal?  Do you like a particular company?  Do you want to stick with a certain company?  If so, I’m sure the bank you like has the card that you’ll need.  If loyalty is a factor, then finding a card shouldn’t be hard at all!

How do you want your cash back?  Cash back cards may be called that but don’t be alarmed when you find a card that gives you “points back”  It works the same way because in the end, you’ll get enough points for gift cards, etc.  It all spends the same.  If you want cash back, look for a card that does just that but if you want rewards like points, see how their system works.

By answering these questions alone, it should give you a better idea on what cards you want.  Make sure you look at each card that are on the market (there are a lot of them!)  It’s a lot easier to go in when you know what you want.  As long as you pay your cards off in full, you can really take advantage!

The great thing about cash back cards is that they will reward you for your spending.  As long as you pay your card off in full every month, you’ll take full advantage.  Since some cards are truly a “cash back” card, they rely on a point based system.  I’m going to show you how that system works and how you can redeem them in for points.

Check out the companies database- The first thing you’re going to want to do is check out what the credit card company has to offer.  Major companies like Citi(r) and Discover(r) offer a huge selection of goods and you can definitely get a lot for your points.  From gift cards to TVs, you name it, they have it.  In my personal opinion, you always make out the best with a gift card.

Know what you want to target for – If you find something you like, know how many points its going to take.  Say, you want that $25 department store gift card and it’s going to take you 2,500 points.  Now you know once you spend enough to get that 2,500 points, you can redeem it for that gift card.

Know how the point system works – Every card varies when it comes to points.  Some companies will give you five times the points if you shop somewhere they recommend and others may just give you one point per dollar.  Let’s say your card just does a flat out one point per dollar.  If you wanted that $25 gift card mentioned above, you would need to spend about $2,500.  This isn’t the case with most cards but is a good example.

Redeem your points – Once you spend enough, wait for your balance to reflect your points.  Most of the times, it won’t be instantly but rather, after you pay your bill.  This way, you don’t rip the credit card company off.  They don’t want you to use the card, redeem the points and never pay them.  Instead, once you pay your bill, wait for the points to pop up in your account.

Every company varies but from my own experience, it’s not hard at all to get the rewards you want.  Simply put in your address and they will ship it directly to your door.  It’s not bad for just using your credit card!  Spend wisely and the rewards will come your way.

Getting cash back online isn’t that hard if you do a little research but instead of doing all of the hardcore research, I’m going to do it for you and today, we’re going to talk about a website call Ebates.  A website that’s insane when it comes to getting cash back online with literally every store that’s out there.

Today, I’m going to show ways on how you can save up hundreds of dollars annually just by using this service.  I’ll show you step by step on how to do it and get an incredible deal on just about anything you can think of online.

Step 1 – The first thing you’ll want to do is head on over to Ebates and register.  It takes no longer than two minutes to set up your account.  Once you set up your account, you’ll be able to access the member platform, where you can view hundreds of stores online.

Step 2 – Once you on the platform, you can either search stores by the category or you can view a full list.  When you’re looking at the full list, you’ll be able to see exactly how much you’re going to save at that store.  So, if you’ve found a cheap price, you can hop on here and buy it with a rebate.

Step 3 – When you find the store you want to purchase the item from, simply click on the link but also look for coupons before you do buy it.  You may be able to save even more with just a coupon.  Once you look for coupons, simply click on the link and make your purchase.   Always make sure you click on the link so that you can get the cash back.

Step 4- After you make the purchase, you’ll have to wait for your balance to be credited.  Once you get your money, you can either get it by check or paypal.  You’ll have to have at least $5 in order to get your money.  This adds up fairly quick though when making purchases.

This is a great way to get money back when you’re doing your shopping online.  Instead of paying full price, why not get a few bucks back?  Ebates is by far, my favorite website to get cash back.  Make sure you check it out in order to get some cash back today on your purchases.

Often, I will have potential credit card appliers ask how a cash back credit card can help them save money.  I’m going to lay it out in simple terms on how you can use it and how you can save each and every month.  It’s not hard to take advantage of the rewards as long as you follow these rules.  ALWAYS pay your bill off in full on time.  If you can follow this simple rule, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the rewards.  The reason you want to pay your card off in full is because of the interest rate charges.  If you don’t pay it off in full, you’ll get a high APR tacked onto your bill.

I’m going to provide an example here and how you can save.  I’m going to create a “credit card” and I’m going to create a consumer on how he/she spends.  I will then show you how much you can potentially save.  Remember, it’s going to vary between the cards you apply for because they are all different.

Credit Card Example
The credit card we are going to use will offer the following rebates on the following items –

• 5% cash back on all gas, super market, and drug store purchases
• 1% on everything else

This is how most cash back cards work but not all of them.  Some of them have set percentages and some don’t.

Now, let’s say you’re a typical spender with just 2 people in your family and you put a lot of your bills on your credit card, which you pay off each month in full:

• Mortgage:  $600/month
• Car Payment:  $200/month
• Car Insurance:  $200/month
• Groceries:  $100/week
• Cable / Internet:  $100/month
• Utilities (water, electric, garbage, etc) :  $125/month
• Entertainment $300/month
• Gas $50/week
• TOTAL:  $2125

Now, let’s look at what we could save with our cash back credit card we mentioned above.

• Mortgage:  $600/month + 1% discount = $594
• Car Payment:  $200/month + 1% discount = $198
• Car Insurance:  $200/month + 1% discount = $198
• Groceries:  $100/week + 5% discount = $380/month
• Cable / Internet:  $100/month + 1% discount = $99
• Utilities (water, electric, garbage, etc) :  $125/month + 1% discount = $123.75
• Entertainment $300/month + 1% discount = $297
• Gas $50/week + 5% discount = $190
• TOTAL:  $2079.75

At first, it doesn’t look like a lot but remember, you’re going to be paying these bills regardless.  If you had this program, you’ll be able to save $45.25 each month.  That’s almost enough for a free bill!

As I already mentioned, every card is going to be different.  With some, you’re going to be able to save a lot more and some, you won’t save this much at all.  Make sure you do your research when looking for a credit card and as long as you use it responsibly, you’ll be able to save this much and more every month.

I love when people online say that others have an agenda where we all are out to get you just to make a dollar on our end.  This couldn’t be further from the truth and I’ll tell you why.  When you apply for a credit card, you know what’s coming to you.  You can read the terms and conditions, look at all the disclosures, etc.  Do you know why?  It’s the law.

Cash back credit cards can really help you when it comes to every day spending.  The only way it won’t help you is when you don’t pay your credit card bills in full.  If you can’t pay your bills off in full, you’ll want to avoid reward cards all together.  These cards are designed for those who pay off in full because as you’re probably aware of, a card that’s paid off in full won’t see interest rate charges.

Cash back cards will give a lot back no matter how much you spend.  As you look at the cards on the market, you’ll realize that most of them are the same.  Here are some of the types you’ll see –

• For every dollar you spend, you get a percentage back.
• For every dollar you spend, you get points back.
• For every dollar you spend, you get a statement credit.

Cash back cards aren’t always “cash back” cards.  In a way, they can be looked at that way.  Let’s use a points based card for example.  Let’s say it takes about 5,000 points to get a $50 gift card through a company.  If you spend $5,000, you’re going to get $50 back.  In the long haul, that’s less than a 1% back.  This is why you need to look at the formulas to see what benefits you.  Obviously, if a card is giving you 5% back, you’ll want to choose that card over the points based card.

Benefiting from a cash back card is really simple.  Pay in full on time and you’ll take full advantage of these cards.  If you’re disciplined enough, put all your bills on the card but make sure you know what’s going on there.  If you have $3,000 in total bills a month, think of how fast that can add up?  It’s a lot better than nothing.  No credit card companies are out there to get you.  All the information you need is there.  So, if you feel the card companies are going to rip you off, you’re wrong.  Be disciplined and know your budget and you’ll be taking full advantage of the cash back game.