Debit Cards Are Popular But Credit Cards Still Needed

There are a lot of consumers who are intent on earning the maximum on their credit card rewards so they tend to hold off on using them until they keep adding up. Experts watching the credit card industry are now saying that if you don’t use your credit card rewards now, you may end up losing them.

One of the reasons rewards are disappearing in the credit card industry is because with so many consumers defaulting on their credit card obligations, credit card companies are doing away with credit card rewards more often. Card issuers have already been doing what they can to overcome the drastic losses they face because of consumer debt. Some of those measures include raising consumer interest rates and adding more fees to the mix. Many consumers have already experienced a reduction or total loss of credit limits with little advance warning.

As new credit card rules will be coming into play next year, the experts advise that rewards are cashed in while the getting is still good. In past years there were several credit card issuers that were happy to double rewards and offer other bonuses to loyal customers. Since those rewards are cutting into profits, it is likely the rewards programs will be eliminated completely by some card issuers or for credit risky consumers.

Beyond the changes to the credit card industry, there are other concerns if you allow your credit card rewards to keep building up without cashing them in. For instance, one late payment on your account can cost you all the rewards points your were saving. In addition to the loss of rewards, you will also likely incur a fee for the penalty of paying late. Credit card issuers are quick to pounce on credit risky account holders and not only could you lose your points and incur a fee, you run the risk of having your entire account closed without much notice.

Consider the rewards cards you are using now. If you are able to stockpile your rewards or even forget to use what you have earned, you may want to revisit the credit card you are using to earn rewards points. Perhaps it is not the right rewards program for you. If you are earning airline miles that you can’t use, you might want to reconsider the card you have and replace it with something you can use, like a cash back card. There are plenty of options these days for rewards cards that may make more sense for your lifestyle. Take a look around and comparison shop which rewards cards will work best for you. However you use your rewards is your business but you should remember not to forget to use what you have earned.

Related Posts:

• Five Reasons Credit Cards Are Better than Debit Cards - Many people prefer to use debit cards over credit cards.  They say that debit cards are accepted just like a credit card,...
• Discover Reintroducing Two Popular Cards - Discover Financial Services LLC has recently announced that it is reintroducing two of its more popular cards:  the Discover More Card and...
• Why Are Debit Cards Getting So Much Love These Days? - More and more people are deciding to use their debit cards rather than their credit cards, which is an issue that I...
• Battle Raging Between Retailers and Banks on Debit Cards - As I have mentioned before, debit card usage continues to grow. In fact, debit cards were responsible or $1 trillion worth of...

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 5:15 am and is filed under New Card Offers, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.