March 16, 2009
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Guidelines for Choosing the best CC Rewards, Pt.3
‘Duffers' and ‘Habitual Users'.Duffers:/(5) Recommendations(cont.): Otherwise, it's a 12% to 18% APR. If you were going to pay that much in cash anyway, it would reward you to charge it on the credit card and then pay the balance each month. That way you get the rewards (as much as $325 cash, just at the minimum $6,500). One woman in the news got a $681 reward for just using her credit card that way. Read about it in my news article entitled "Success with Credit Card Rewards." Below the $6,500 mark however, rewards fall to only 1% cash back. Another good deal for the simple plans is:
o Costco/AMEX/TrueEarnings: $25 to credit back after 1st purchase; 3% back for gas & restaurants; 2% back on travel and; 1% back on all else.
Habitual shoppers: The one main criteria here is deciding if you're the kind to pay off your credit card every month or if you're prone to get in over your head. Please form your habits appropriately.
1) Frequent Usage: Since ‘habitual' generally means frequent usage of credit cards, there is much to be gained by directing and focusing some of those habits.
2) Autopilot: Repetition and habits usually go hand-in-hand. This is a prime situation for setting things in ‘autopilot‘ mode and letting the process just take you where you want to go.
3) Pay off: The important thing to keep in mind here is that finance charges can eat you alive if you let them. So, if the goal is to let everything take it's course without a lot of thought, it may be best to build in the ‘safety habit' of always paying the credit card off every month.
4) Recommendations: For those who are content with just letting ‘habits' run the whole thing, the recommendations for ‘Duffers' will work here just fine, as well. When habits mean ‘charging a lot' (as habits can), there are a few more offers that may be of some interest to you also:o Cap 1/No Hassle: Earn 2% back for groceries & gas and 1% back on all other credit card purchases. Since you charge so charge so frequently, you may want to check out the 12 month 0% APR Promo they offer to some people. Beware, though of accumulating charges you can't easily pay back when the time comes. Also, note the $29 Annual Fee for those with lower credit card Scores. One good autopilot trait is that ‘Points' never expire.