Credit Cards With Cash Back
One of the best types of cards to use when making a high volume of purchases is a cash back credit card. With such offers, you earn cash back rebates on purchases made with your card. Some cash back credit cards will give you a larger rebate during the first few months that you have your card, or more rewards for purchases made at certain places, such as at grocery stores or specific online merchants.
Applying For Cash Back Credit Cards
When choosing between the various credit cards with cash back rebates listed above, there are three main points to consider which are unique to such programs:
- The actual cash rebate percentage you will get
- Possible limits on how many points you can earn
- When and if your rebate points will ever expire
One of the first program features to look for is exactly what percentage you are getting as a rebate based on the amounts and type of purchases you make. For example, you might see the words "up to 5% cash back" on an offer, and choose that card thinking it will give you the most cash rebates. However, you might find the program starts at 1% and only climbs to 5% after you've used the card to make five or ten thousand dollars in purchases. Another possibility is that you only get the full 5% rebate at certain stores, like grocery stores, gas stations, or specific retail stores, while purchases made at other locations remain at 1%. So, always make yourself aware of exactly how much your rebate will be in all cases.
The next point to address is whether there are any limits on how many points you can receive. Cardholders might think that all of their high-dollar purchases made with a credit card are earning them points only to find they stopped earning rebates after they reached 10,000 or 25,000 points for the year. The best programs will have no limit on how many cash rebate points you can earn.
Finally, there is the issue of expiring points and how you redeem your rewards. Some cash back programs will send you a $25 or $50 check automatically whenever your points reach a certain amount. Others will notify you as to how many points you have, but leave it up to you to request how and when you receive your points. When choosing a cash rebate card, look in the program rules for when your points are paid and when they expire if you fail to redeem them. A good cash back program will keep you informed monthly as to how many points you have, as well as when and if your points expire.
If you keep these three features in mind while applying for cash back credit cards, you should easily be able to choose the best offer for you.