There’s a Trick to Getting Rewarded With Rewards Credit Cards

There is so much competition among credit card companies that in order to get people to sign up for their credit cards, many have created various rewards programs.  The rewards programs offer bonuses meant to encourage a consumer to choose that credit card over the other seven in the consumer’s wallet!

If you have rewards credit cards but don’t feel like you’ve been rewarded, you probably don’t know the “trick”; or if you know it- you’ve been ignoring it!  For almost all rewards credit cards, you have to do this one, minor detail if you expect to earn a thing from the advertised rewards!  If you don’t have  rewards credit cards and want one, you can compare a bunch of the different offers and find one that offers something you actually want- whether it’s airline miles, points that can be used for retail shopping, cash back, or gasoline rebates.

So what’s the one, minor detail that you must do if you expect to earn any rewards with your rewards credit card?  The only real way to benefit from using this type of credit card is if you do not carry a balance from one month to the next.

That’s it.  That’s the trick to getting rewarded with rewards credit cards!

With rewards credit cards, you really need to pay your balance in full every month, otherwise, you will almost always pay more in interest and finance fees than your rewards are worth.  If the credit card you use has an annual fee, then you have to earn that much in rewards each year before you actually “earn” anything.

Think about it.  If you make $300 in purchases in January and earn 1% cash back, you’ve earned $3.  If you don’t pay off your entire balance and just make the minimum payment, you’re probably going to be charged interest ranging from 8% to 18% on that $280 balance (or whatever you have remaining after you make your monthly payment).  If you make your payment late, add on another $29 to $39 in late fees.

Does that $3 still sound rewarding?  No! You absolutely must plan to pay your balance off in full every month in order to benefit from a rewards credit card program- regardless if it is cash back, airline miles, gasoline rebates, auto rewards, free merchandise or some other benefit- they all work the same way.

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