You’ve probably heard of this before, where someone will tell you that you can make money with your credit card, without doing much.  Is it true?  In this economy, it’s a lot harder than before, but it can be done.  I want to give you a few tips, and tricks that you can use in order to make money with your cards.

Look for the promotional rates

Credit cards are notorious for offering promotional rates.  You can sign up for  a card, get a free airline ticket, or even enough points to sign up for a free gift, etc.  If you’re looking for a new card, look for one that’s going to give you something just to sign up.

Check out the discount programs

Many department store cards will give you a hefty discount when you sign up for a card.  For example, a few months back, I had a 10% off coupon at Home Depot.  I was able to take that 10% off coupon in, and I also signed up for their card to save an additional 10%.  This was a total savings of 20%!  Since I was buying a whole bunch of stuff for my kitchen, my $5,000 purchase was only $4,000.

Credit card arbitrage

This is a tricky thing to get into, and it’s very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.  Instead of myself going into detail on how to do it, I will just direct you to this message board thread on how it can be done.  If done the right way, you can really take advantage!

As you can see, you can make money, save money, and do so much more.  Use your head, find a great card, and watch the savings roll in!

If you and your friends have a trip planned to Cedar Point soon, you may want to consider finding discount tickets before you actually head down to the park.  Instead of paying full price at the gate, I wanted to show you a few ways on how you can save on your Cedar Point tickets.

Look for the soda cans – Places like Coke and Pepsi always have Cedar Point discounts right on their cans.  These cans will only be found throughout the Ohio, Michigan area.  If you’re in the area, check out the cans at a local store to see if there are discounts right on the can.  If there are, pick a few up, because it’s going to be worth it.  You can generally get $8 off your admissions, which is a great deal!

Head to a local store - I know in places like Meijer, and Kroger, you can find some discount tickets right at the customer service desk.  If you plan on going, buy your tickets ahead of time, and save the money.  These two grocery stores have discount tickets that you can buy right there, and then take them straight to the park.  This helps you bypass the ticket purchasing line as well.

Use your AAA or Military - If you’re part of the Military, or you hold an AAA card, make sure that you show it, because Cedar Point will give you a discount.

Hotel packages - Check into the hotels around the Cedar Point area to see what kind of discounts they can give you.  You’ll find that some hotels are going to get you some deals if you lodge with them.

Check out eBay - eBay will occasionally have some coupons, when you do a search.  Search for some coupons on there, and see if you can hit the jackpot.  You can usually pick these up for as little as a few dollars.

With the great new Credit Card ACT coming underway, you may be worried that the credit card rewards out there are going to disappear.  The question today is, “Are credit card rewards going to disappear?”  According to most experts, they say no, and I’ll give you some insight on why.

Credit card companies need to be competitive

Credit card companies started the reward system years ago in order to be competitive.  This is what got people to use their card.  Of course, a fair majority of the users out there didn’t pay the card off in full.  These users thought they were getting rewards, but they really weren’t, because of the interest rate.  In this market, the rewards may go down, but don’t count on them going away completely

You may start to see more fees

Instead of dropping the reward programs, you may see more companies adding fees, or dropping their rewards.  If this is the case with your card, I would recommend that you look for a new one, because there are a lot of cards out there.  If you find that there’s any type of fee added, this may offset your rewards.

According to Finance Markets, they noted that 78% of the credit cards today are still offering reward schemes.  In the past 12 months, credit cards offering rewards have fallen by 11%.  The number is fairly low, and let’s not  forget that the media always likes to present negativity.

In conclusion, credit card rewards aren’t going anywhere, and you’re afraid that your card is going to be tacked with unwanted fees, and more, you may just want to find a new one, because there are plenty out there!

When you start your hunt for a credit card, you’re going to find that there’s a lot more than expected.  I generally think this is great, because when there’s a big selection, I’m able to choose from a lot more.  Wouldn’t you rather choose from 100 cards, rather than 2 or 3?

Looking for a cash back card isn’t’ hard at all, and there are a lot of good ones out there.  I wanted to point out a few tips that you can use in order to find the right card for you.

Look past the intro rate

When you look at cash back cards, you’re going to find that many cards have an intro rate.  This rate isn’t going to last forever, and this is why I tell people to look at the future, rather than now.  If a card is going to give you 10% for the first 60 days, what are they giving you after?  It could be 1%.  Look past the intro rate to see what you’re getting.

What kind of rewards are you getting?

Since all cards are different, you’re going to find that one card is going to give you 5% on groceries, while the other will give you 2% of groceries.  I always recommend a card that’s going to give you the most back on what you purchase the most.  If you do a lot of grocery shopping, I would recommend one that favors groceries.  If you spend a lot on gas, I would recommend one for gasoline.

Review the reward system

You may find that some cards will give you reward points ,rather than cash back on your statement.  It’s important to look into the rewards system, as well as review them online.  A quick search for the reward system online should yield some great results for you to explore.

Have a major logo

I would never ever apply for a card without the Visa, or MasterCard logo.  Make sure you get a card that you can use everywhere.  If you can’t use it at the places you shop, how are you going to get the rewards that you deserve?

If your search right now consists of finding the best cash back cards on the market, I’m going to give you some tips and tricks on how you can find the best card on the market.  You want to have your card work for you, and this is how it’s done.

Explore your spending budget

I want you to look back at the last couple years, and see what you’re spending your money on.  Are you spending it on food a lot?  clothing?  office supplies?  The reason I will ask this is because many cash back cards will reward you more based on your purchases.  So, if you make a lot of purchases at the grocery store, you’ll want a card that rewards you in that category.

How much do you want back?

Yes, I think all of us want 100% back, but is that going to be possible?  No!  You’ll want to explore every card, and how much you’re going to get back.  You’re most likely going to get anywhere from 1-10% back.  Now, make sure that this percentage is based on the life on the card, and not just the first three months of so.

Research those fees

Fees can be a pain in the butt when it comes down to search for the perfect credit card.  When you’re looking for the perfect credit card, make sure that you’re looking at the fees.  These fees are going to include your annual fees, your monthly fees, or anything else that the credit card company may charge.

Make sure it’s from a major company

Never apply for a card from a company you’ve never heard of.  Instead, you’ll want to apply for a card from major issuer’s such as Visa, and MasterCard.  If you find yourself getting a card from a provider you’ve never heard of, you probably won’t be able to use it in the stores you frequent.