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Research: Reward cards and the consumer- Finding the best deals - Credit-Land.com

We all love getting freebies. The sight of a free tag on just about anything makes us reach for it over another product. Credit cards and banks know this fact and offer customer ?®reward cards?? in a bid to get them to spend more and rewards that cost much lesser than what they spend to get it. But what you need to do as a consumer is to find a reward card that suits your needs and offers you flexible benefits.

Nearly every businessman or traveler will have a frequent flier card from an airline. This seems like an excellent deal, but the thing is, it lets you redeem only on one flight, not any other. If you opt for a flexible card where you can earn multiple rewards such as hotel accommodations, airline tickets, cruises and car rentals you will be striking a much better deal. A chase travel plus card offers you all these benefits, so see that you enquire and decide if it fits your budget and your needs.

Getting rewards in cash is another option for many consumers; It is a simple and straightforward option that can be used for multiple purchases later on. But then today many reward card programs are complex, there are rotating categories. One quarter may give gas rewards, while another offers the customer grocery rewards. When it comes to gift cards, choose carefully. Redemption choices from the retailers are limited on gift cards, so see if you can take a cash offer in place of the gifts. If you can only swap for merchandise out of a catalog for the gift card, then you may as well redeem those points for gift cards than wait around. You are less likely to spend more to earn the reward, since you do not really like what is being offered as freebies.

Cobranded reward cards are a great idea, especially if you are a big shopper. Merchant programs for rewards have better pay offs and deals than other cards in the market so you cannot go wrong with it. You also get sign up bonuses and other attractive offers. Just make sure you are getting a reward card for brands you frequent than one that has more of things you would not really shop for.

Reward cards are also available wherein you can deposit the cash back into an investment or saving account automatically. You can even opt for it to be put into a 529 college fund which will be every useful. This will mean a lot of guilt free shopping but also be careful you do not overspend. There will be additional costs with the interest rates on the card and annual fees that go with it. You can get all these benefits and more with reward cards, all you need to is spend some time researching on your options and pick out the best one in the market for your needs.