Take Full Advantage of Owning a Credit Card

Posted by Steven J. Talrechi

Credit cards compete for your business by offering incentives such as low introductory interest rates or rewards to new customers like free flights and cash back. These rewards are generally based on how heavily you use your card. There’s a trick to these incentives and we’ll show you how to take advantage of these incentive programs.

The credit card companies try to get new clients by offering rewards and perks, like cash back programs and free airfare for new customers. Low interest rates as an introductory offer are also common. These rewards usually are dependent on how much you charge on your credit card. However, there are ways to maximize what you can get out of these offers; read on to find out how to take full advantage of your credit card with these incentives.

Rewards cards: You should definitely look around for the best offer when it comes to cards that give you rewards. You want to look for rewards which will genuinely be useful to you. If you don’t fly often, or don’t charge a lot on your card, then it’s unlikely that a card which offers free flights as a reward is right for you. These sorts of rewards programs often require you to spend a lot before you get a flight.

Look around for a reward which really fits into your plans. Cash back rewards are always good. Of course, as with anything else, always read the fine print first. Be sure to ask the credit card company rep if there are any limits on the rewards; many credit card companies allow you only a certain amount of rewards and once you claim those, that’s it.

You should also ask the rep about time limits. A lot of these programs either have a limit to the amount of rewards you can claim or a time limit in which you can claim the rewards, with an expiration date.

If a gas station reward card looks tempting to you, make sure that there is a participating gas station near you before you sign up.

Low introductory rates: This is an interesting one. Say you have a credit card that carries a rate of 19% per annum (yearly). You have a small balance on it that can be easily paid off in say 180 days. In your shopping, you find a card that offers a 9.9% rate for new card clients for the first 12 months with no annual fees. In this situation, you could essentially take that card, transfer the balance to it and pay it off with less interest in less time. This could literally save you hundreds of dollars very quickly. The old card could be canceled or, if you have held it for some time, saved for emergencies.

In either event, you could take full advantage of being a credit card owner by using the credit card company’s greed against them. Competition always breeds good things for consumers. Look around and see what is available. You may be pleasantly surprised to see advantages you never thought possible.

Just be sure to ask the questions and do the homework FIRST. Haste makes waste, as they say.

Tags: Finance

Under Finance Tags: Finance