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How You Can Make Cash Back Credit Cards Work for You

by on May 15, 2009

There is a technique that you can use to make money on your cash-back credit cards.  Some who have had them for a Make Cash Back Cards Work For Youlong time and use this method are enjoying hundreds of dollars in cash-back annually.  This involves a premise that you must adhere to no matter what, or the money that you can make will dry up and you will have just another credit card on hand.  That premise is that you pay off your balance every month without fail and before the due date.  Use whatever reminder that you can find to make sure that you do not fail to do this.

Pick the right card.  You must search for the right card for you.  Cash back credit cards are still very popular with consumers, so you should be able to find one without too much trouble.  Discover, American Express and Citi are the most popular cash-back credit card companies.  Discover Open Road card also offers a 0% balance transfer feature.   Also important is choosing a card that fits your buying habits.  This means trying to find one that has fewer restrictions (talked about below).

Look at the fine print.  Be sure to read the fine print on your application to find out the charges and fees than can be assessed, and also the terms and conditions for the cash-back rewards.  How are they administered?  Do you have to do anything to obtain the cash-back rewards or are they automatic?

Watch for restrictions.  Are there any limits on the amount of cash-back rewards that you can earn?  What about restrictions on where you can use the card and for what items qualify (categories)?  These need to be investigated as well because they vary from card offer to card offer.  Also, you will want to be aware that the categories to which your purchases apply might change as well.  This is something that you will need to keep up with in order to make sure that your purchases are eligible for the cash-back reward.

Watch the fees.  Check for fees and see if they are in line with other credit card offerings.  You do not want to obtain a cash-back rewards card only to see the rewards eaten up by fees.

Pay off monthly.  The little secret to making these cash-back cards pay you money is to pay off the balances every month.  This allows you to accumulate money in your card account while maintaining an interest and fee free account position.  Even after paying the annual fee (if there is any) you will still come out ahead by earning cash-back rewards.

Keep in mind that cash-back rewards cards are designed to get you hooked into making purchases and hopefully carrying a balance.  That way, the card issuers will make more money on you as a customer than you will earn in cash-back rewards.  Also, having more than one rewards card makes it very difficult to keep up with the details of which card should be used when.  That is why it is important to have only one that fits your shopping habits and can help you out where you need it the most.

Cash back rewards cards are great when they are kept in their proper perspective and used responsibly.  As an overall strategy in making your finances work for you, they have a solid place.  Being able to use tools that help you earn money while paying for things that you are going to buy anyway make sense.  The only thing that you need to watch for is to not let it get away from you.  Watch your account carefully and the amounts that you purchase and you should do great.

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Mkcoy May 16, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Always good sense posts here. Good to see someone putting it in easy to understand terms and words. Definitely agree with you about the premise. Ensuring you can pay the full balance in full no only means you will be able to enjoy the benefits of a cashback card but also means you won't fall behind in payments anyway.

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