If you think back to when you were a child, credit cards were probably just “credit cards”.   You would charge the card and get no rewards at all.  Today, it’s a whole another ballgame.  From getting cash back on your purchases to saving at the gas pump, if you want a reward,  it’s probably out there.

Rewards cards are all over the place and if you’re looking for one, there are a few things that you should look out for in order to snag the perfect card that caters to your needs.

Are you responsible with your card?

If you’re one that pays your credit card off in full every month, a reward card is going to be for you because if you don’t manage to pay your card off in full, the reward cards aren’t going to be worth it.  You’re going to have to make sure you pay your card off in full every month.  If you have a higher interest rate around 10-20%, it will offset the rewards you get and won’t make any sense.

Know what rewards you want

How do you spend your money?  Do you want to save on gas?  on groceries?  on anything?  Every card is different and it’s important that you look into each and every card to see what exactly will work for you.  Make out a budget sheet and see exactly how much you can potentially save over the year.

Is it going to be worth it for you?

If you tend to do a lot of spending on your credit card, you’ll probably benefit from it but if you don’t do a lot of spending, you may want to look at other options.  Most credit cards, you will usually need about 5,000 points until you see any type of reward.  If you have a credit card where a point equals a dollar, it’s going to take you about $5,000 to get that reward.

Read the fine print

Make sure that you always read that fine print before you apply.  You may soon find out that you can only spend so much per year and there may be a cap on your rewards.  You won’t want to do all that spending and soon find out that you can’t cash in your rewards because you over spent.

In the end, if you’re a responsible user and you can pay your bill off in full each month, you’re really going to benefit from something like this.  Do your research and you should find the perfect card in no time.


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  2. Why You Should Use A Cash Back Credit Card
  3. Maximizing your Cash Back Credit Card Rewards
  4. Are Credit Card Rewards Disappearing?
  5. Making Your Credit Card Rewarding