December
and January are the two busiest months of the year, with everyone rushing to
buy last-minute gifts for the holidays, even shopping and partying until early
January while everyone’s on vacation. If you are using your credit card to
cover your holiday expenses, it’s advisable to get the most out of your credit card rewards.
Here
are some tips on how you can maximise rewards during the holidays:
1. Focus on your interest.
You
won’t get what you want if you don’t focus on your interest. Before signing up
for a credit card, ask yourself what specific benefits you want… do you want
miles for an airline? Are you hoping to get shopping rewards? Are you planning
to score gasoline points? Do you want cash back rewards? Make sure that when
you pick a card, you don’t get one that offers benefits you won’t use anyway.
You should also be careful in spending your money—don’t spend more than you
would normally do just to get rewards. Another tip is to pick a card that
provides you with the option to choose either points or cash back so you can
choose which reward you want depending on your needs at certain times.
2. Choose cash back.
Cash
back reward is still considered as one of the best advantages of credit card
usage simply because you can spend cash however you want to spend it. However,
most credit card users opt not to get a card with cash back rewards because of
the amount of money they have to spend in order to get this benefit. Another
reason why most card holders opt to choose other cards is because they would
rather let their points accumulate to get something they want instead of going
for the cash back benefit.
3. Discard other less advantageous cards
To
get the most benefits out of your card, choose the card that offers the biggest
benefits, rewards program, has a zero percent interest rate for the first year
of use, as well as one that provides you with double or triple rewards when you
make a balance transfer. Then after
selecting, transfer your balance to that account and close off your other
cards. However, you may only do this if your credit score is good, you pay your
bills on time, and you are far from maxing out your credit limit on your other
cards.
4. Take time in deciding which credit card to choose.
Most
current card holders apply for a credit card without putting much thought into
it. Take time to choose which card provides the best benefits instead of making
a quick decision based on a specific freebie offered. Caution is also advised
in choosing a card with annual fees as annual fees can add up and really cost
you more than just choosing a cash back that doesn’t require you to pay annual
fees.
5. Keep track of your
reward points’ expiration.
Reward
points have expiration dates nowadays. To prevent wasting money along with the
considerable effort you spent in collecting reward points, put the expiration
date of your credit card’s rewards a few days ahead on your phone’s calendar.
Better yet, schedule a day in your calendar when you plan to claim your reward
points and set an alarm so you won’t forget to claim it before it expires.
6. Read notices from your credit card issuer.
Some
credit card companies change policies and usually send notices at your home
address via snail mail. To ensure there won’t be any surprises, always read the
notices you get from your credit card issuer. An example of change is
implementing fewer points in their rewards program, or reducing the percentage
of cash back rewards. Reading notices will allow you to be more cautious in
your spending. You can also take the opportunity to look for a card that will
provide you with more benefits in case your policy changes and you don’t think
those changes will be in your favor.
Maximizing
credit card rewards is easy if you take time to consider what you really want.
The tips above should help you get the most benefits out of your credit card
rewards program and enable you to have more of which you can actually use.
Note: This is a guest post by MoneyMax, a Philippines’ leading financial comparison portal which helps Filipino consumers make the right financial decisions as they settle on the best credit card, home loan, broadband plan, and more—fast, comprehensive, and free.
