Cash Back Credit Cards
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 rewards on purchases made with your card - sometimes up to 5% cash back at certain locations.
- $100 Bonus after you spend $500 in the first 3 months
- 50% bonus on the cash back you earn every year
- 1% cash back on all purchases
- No annual fee
- Earn unlimited cash rewards that don't expire
- Redeem cash rewards anytime for any amount, even set up automatic redemption
- Personalize your card with an image of your choice
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers until August 2012
- This offer is for people with a good to excellent credit history which means, among other things, that your credit history is clear of bankruptcy and seriously delinquent accounts.
- Earn $50 Bonus Cash Back after your first purchase.
- 0% Intro APR for 12 months on balance transfers and 6 months on purchases - a variable APR as low as 9.99% - 22.99% after your 0% ends.
- 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent on dining, department stores, movie theaters and charitable organizations from 10/1/11 - 12/31/11
- You'll enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months like supermarkets, gas, drugstores and even home improvement stores. It's free and easy to activate your bonus each quarter!
- Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases without limits on what you can earn.
- Up to an additional 10% Cash Back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase.
- No annual fee and rewards never expire.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 21 months. After that, the variable APR will be 11.99%-20.99% based on your creditworthiness.
- Extra Cash from Citi: enjoy discounts on gift cards, travel, merchandise and more
- Citi® Identity Theft Solutions
- Secure, free online account management
- No annual fee*
Understanding Cash Back Credit Card Offers
There are some important points about reward programs to take into consideration before applying for cash back credit cards. These include:
- The actual cash rebate percentage you will get
- Possible limits on how many points you can earn
- What options exist for redeeming your points
- When and if your rebate points will ever expire
Read The Fine Print: 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. If you expect your primary source of rebates to be gas stations purchases, then Gas Credit Cards may present a better solution.
Limits On Points: 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.
Redeeming Points: 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.
Expiring 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 four features in mind while applying for cash back credit cards, you should easily be able to choose the best offer for you.
