March 16, 2009
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Guidelines for Choosing the best CC Rewards, Pt.1
General guidelines.In the ‘primer' news article entitled: "Choosing the best Credit Card Rewards", five categories were suggested. One of them ‘Frequent Fliers', was explored in that article. This series will continue fourth, deeper into the remaining four credit card reward seeker categories which are: General Users; Duffers; Habitual Shoppers and Navigators. Each category has its own credit card user characteristics although there is some overlap.
General Users:
1) Read the fine print: I know, we all hate it. But, since this ‘General' category does fit all, just a few words here. For those not deep into the credit card innards, just do a cursory overview of the fine print. Spend the amount of time in detail according to your desired involvement. Alternately, supplement this step by calling the credit card lenders' Customer Service. Some people prefer this as a starting point (though the poor CS people hate it). Whichever fits your situation.
2) Autopilot: No matter what your involvement, pick up a plan that will mostly run itself. You can tend to extra detail if you wish but, the more you can automate, the more time you'll have to ‘tweak'. For passive credit card users (‘duffers'), autopilot is the only way to go. Make sure you set up the plan at the onset so you can just forget about it and ‘do your thing'.
3) Introductory offers: Many, if not most, people don't realize the significance that credit card ‘promos' can play. Instead of buying that used car at the dealer's terms, max out a 12 month 0% interest promo for the year. Then after the year, either move the remaining debt elsewhere, pay it off or leave it alone if the new APR is agreeable. Meanwhile, you'll be racking up rewards points.
4) Small-business: For some odd reason, business credit cards seem to get all the ‘sweet deals' today. Maybe it's cause small businesses tend to be more responsible in order to survive. In any case, the ‘sweet deals' are here. If you can qualify (you don't need a storefront, just some contract work), you'll probably latch on to an offer you love pretty quick. Of the many perks that come with them, actual money back (not just virtual points) is certainly one of the best.