3 Tips for Finding the Right Rewards Credit Card this Year
Carrying a rewards card can help you to accumulate savings when you are doing your shopping. Swiping your card for purchases allows you to earn some rewards for every dollar you spent. The following are 3 simple tips on how to find the right rewards credit card this year.
1. Decide Between a Cash Back or Travel Rewards Card
You must decide whether you want a cash back or travel rewards card. If you are someone who use your credit card on everyday expenses, cash back card will be more suitable for you. Some cash back cards allow you to earn a flat rate cash back on all purchases. There are also cash back cards that offer rewards for shopping in rotating bonus categories. The bonus rotating categories changes every quarter and you can find the full list of categories on their site.
If you travel regularly, you should get a travel rewards card. Travel rewards card enables you to earn miles that can be exchanged for free flight tickets, for ree hotel nights and travel statement credits. Cards that are issued by a certain airline or brand of hotel will offer higher rewards when you shop with them and lesser points for everything else. Therefore, you should choose the Every day card wisely. For example, if you frequently travel with Delta airline, then it will be best to apply a Delta rewards card.
2. Check the Annual Fee
Secondly, you must check the annual fee of the rewards card. There are lots of cash back cards that don’t have annual fee, for example, Citi Double Cash, Chase Freedom, and Blu Cash Everyday by American Express. Travel rewards card usually have expensive annual fees but some of them have waived the fee for the first year. If you are considering to sign up a card with annual fee, you must calculate and see whether the value of the rewards exceed the annual fee.
3. Check the APR Interest Fee
Thirdly, you must check how much APR interest fee the rewards credit card will be charging. You can find out the APR interest by getting preapproved. You should get preapproved by several credit card companies so that you can compare the interest rate. To get preapproved, you must fill in the online application form and they will send you a reply in 1 – 2 days on the estimated APR interest. If you have good/excellent credit score, you should have no problem in getting the a low APR interest fee.
The key to finding a low interest card is to use the credit card comparison search engine as it offers a quick glance of the interest rate and other fees for various credit cards. In a comparison search engine, you can filter the search result based on your credit rating and the type of rewards card you are looking for.
5 Rewards Cards That offer The Best Bonus Opportunities For Black Friday Shopping
On this coming Black Friday, you can make use of your rewards card to spend money and earn sign up bonus rewards at the same time. Most rewards cards with signup bonus also let you earn rewards points. The following are the top 5 rewards credit cards that offer the highest signup bonus for Black Friday.
1. Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 50K bonus points when you spend a minimum of $4,000 within a period of 3 months. The 50K bonus points can be exchanged with a $750 voucher that can be used in your travel expenses. It offers 3x points on travel and dining worldwide. On top of that, you also earn 1x point on all other purchases. Points used to redeem travel related expenses will get 50% more value. Every anniversary year, you are entitled to receive $300 in statement credits.
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card also rewards customers with 50,000 signup bonus points for minimum spending of $4,000 in 3 months after account opening. The 50,000 points is worth $625 if you exchange for travel voucher. With the card, you can earn 2x points on travel and dining. You can also earn 5,000 bonus points by adding the first authorized user. The card offers 25% more redemption value when you use your points to redeem travel expenses.
3. Chase Freedom Credit Card
Chase Freedom credit card offers $150 worth of bonus when you spend a minimum of $500 within a period of 3 months. You will earn 5% cash back per dollar spent for up to $1,500 if you spend within the rotating bonus categories. Purchases that do not fall in the rotating bonus categories will earn 1% cash back. There is no minimum rewards points you need to accumulate to redeem. It has a 0% APR in the first 15 months that applies to both purchases and balance transfer. The card has $0 annual fee.
4. Blue Cash Preferred
Blue Cash Preferred allows those who spend $1,000 within the first 3 months to receive a $200 statement credit. The card provides a zero percent APR intro period in the first year. It offers 6% cash back for spending at the local supermarket for up to a maximum of $6,000 per year. If you pump petrol at a US gas station, you can earn 3% cash back with your card. All other purchases will earn you 1% cash back.
5. Discover it Cashback Match
Discover it Cashback Match will match the cash back that you earn at the end of the year for example you can turn $150 into $300. It offers a rewards program that allows you to earn 5% cash on categories that change every quarter. Various rotating bonus categories are covered including Amazon, wholesale clubs and gas stations. Besides, you can earn 1% cash back on categories that don’t belong to the bonus rotating categories. Friend referral can also earn you $50 cash back.