If you haven’t looked at rewards credit card offers lately, you may be surprised by how much you can gain in cash back, points, or miles without necessarily having to track complicated rules.
Some cards provide sign-up bonuses worth more than $1,000 for new cardholders who charge a certain amount in the first few months. And with rewards categories ranging from travel to groceries to rent payments, you can find an option that yields benefits tailored to your spending patterns.
If you’re planning to do plenty of traveling this year, look for a card that offers points or miles you can redeem for a variety of travel purchases, says Matt Schulz, author of “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How to Take Control of Your Financial Life” and chief credit analyst at LendingTree. “For so many people, a flexible, general-purpose travel card can be really useful.”
While frequent travelers can gain sizable benefits from the lucrative perks and bonuses that come with many travel cards, the humble cash-back card that provides a flat payback on all spending is often the best fit for other spenders. “For most people, a no-annual-fee, 2 percent cash-back card is simple but hard to beat,” says Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate. “Treat it like a 2 percent discount on everything you buy.”
Before you sign up for a rewards credit card, take a hard look at your spending habits. These cards make sense only if you pay your credit card balance in full every month. If you carry a balance from month to month, you’ll usually pay interest, which will counteract the benefits of any rewards you earn. But for disciplined spenders, a rewards card can be a lucrative tool.
To help you get started on the search for the best card for you, Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine has compiled a list of its top picks, which is available online at kiplinger.com/kpf/creditcards. Listed for each card is the annual fee, if it charges one, and the sign-up bonus if one is offered. Fees, rewards and other terms are subject to change, so before you apply for a card, check its current terms with the issuer.
