The Real Deal on Credit Card Rebates and Rewards
Contributed by Caryn e Zent
R & R: Credit Card Rebates and Rewards
Got your new rebate or reward credit card in hand and your ready to spend? Here are a few things you should know and maybe check out before you get that card. We've probably all seen the Capital One commercials with David Spade, the king of the "no-storm." Is it true that it is that difficult to redeem rewards and receive rebates after using your credit card? Credit card companies certainly do not make it easy to take advantage of the rewards you signed up for.
According to frequentflyer.com, about 75% of travel rewards are never redeemed by the consumer because of their difficulty. And if you have a rebate card but carry a balance, the additional finance charges are wiping out your rebate dollars. You need to match the reward card to your spending.
Types of rebate credit cards
These days you can get a rebate or reward card for everything: retirement, car purchase, education, charitable giving, straight cash, air miles, hotel, etc. You need to match the card to you and what/how much you purchase. For example, if you are a frequent flier, it's not going to do much good to get miles on airlines you don't fly -- you need to check into a card that is affiliated with your airline.
You need to look at your level of spending and make sure you would use a credit card enough to be able to earn cash rewards. There's a trap for you: you use the card so you can get rewards and then max out your card or can't pay for it! Then your credit takes a ding because you wanted that free stuff -- not good. Instead of looking at what you will spend, look at what you have spent in recent months.
