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There are a lot of credit cards being offered to the customers in the market, after signs of an economic recovery. Customers have started to spend more, which is an encouraging sign for the credit card industry too. There are a lot of lenders now, offering credit cards with many promotional features as incentives to the credit card customers. With so many varieties of offers floating in the market, customers have to be careful about their options. Those who have excellent credit usually get the best offers and they should not sell themselves short. There are certain aspects which distinguish the best credit cards from the not so good ones.

The best credit cards usually do not have annual fees, which is waived as an incentive. This is a good sign because annual fees invariably takes away from your savings and benefits that the credit cards offer. The best credit cards usually offer rewards which are tangible and genuine. There are some good credit cards which offer loyalty points and discounts, most of which aren`t really of much use. The better credit cards, offer rewards such as cash backs and discounts that can be used by the customer in order to save. For example, the cash back can be used towards a bill payment in subsequent month, which is a direct saving for the customer. Flat discounts offered on all purchases are indeed beneficial because the credit card customer can make a savings wherever and whatever he or she purchases.

Some credit cards on the other hand are not always beneficial to the customer. For example, there are reward points offered, but the customer can only redeem the points on items that are not their preferred choice. The discounts can only be gotten if the credit card customer reaches a milestone spending amount which could be higher than the customers` budget, thereby making it useless. The best credit cards also have additional value added services. This could be travel insurance, waiving interchange fees, lost baggage replacement, roadside assistance in the time of emergencies and hotline for critical emergencies like reporting a lost or stolen card. All these services are offered without any additional cost, unless there is an annual fee in which case, the offer isn`t attractive anymore.