How to Make Your Rewards Program REALLY Reward You

In a nutshell, credit card rewards programs offer you benefits and perks just by using your card to make purchases. Frequent flyer miles programs are very common perks, but these rewards can also come in the form of cash back, points that you can trade in for merchandise, and more.

The rewards are based on how much you spend on your credit card. For example, in a points system, each dollar you spend will earn you a set number of points. Once you collect enough, you can trade them in for all kinds of different merchandise, from event tickets to household goods to gift cards for popular retailers.

Many people use their rewards program cards to make big purchases, raking in bigger rewards in one fell swoop, but the small purchases you make every day are just as useful and will really add up over time. To make the most of your rewards program, put your everyday purchases, like groceries and personal items or petrol, on your credit card.

These are purchases you have to make anyway, so there is no reason not to use them to rack up rewards, especially since these are items you must purchase regularly.

Put Ongoing Costs on your Credit Card for Points

Similarly, putting your monthly mortgage or rent on your credit card is a great way to rack up the points in one fell swoop each month. You can also use your rewards program credit card to pay for the electricity, gas, insurance premiums or bills, phone, and water bills each month.

Many of the companies that handle those things offer automated billing that will automatically bill your credit card each month when payment comes due. These sometimes have fees attached to them, though, so be sure to check the fine print before you sign up – the fee may be too high to justify putting it on the card just to get the rewards bonus out of it.

The same is true of your rent and mortgage, as using a credit card for those might also require a fee. All of these things are necessities that can work to your advantage with a little bit of planning and foresight.

Get a Card for your Partner or Sibling

To maximize your rewards and benefits even more, you can get a companion card for your spouse or partner to use, doubling the earning potential. You can also consider putting doctor or dentist bills on the card. But whatever you methods you use to boost the earnings with your spending, bear in mind that this is only a good thing to do if you are able to always meet the monthly payment obligations you have with your credit card issuer.

If you are unable to pay off the balance every month, then putting all of these purchases onto your credit card to earn rewards does not make good sense. The interest you accrue can very likely offset the benefits you receive in return, especially if it is on a large purchase like a mortgage bill or rent bill is likely to be.

It can end up damaging your credit score and history if you are not careful, and even one month of being lax on it can wipe out the bonus you worked so hard to earn.

If you are able to pay those bills of each month, then there is no reason not to take advantage of the perks you are entitled to as a carrier of a particular credit card. For disciplined persons that can do this, the rewards you reap can certainly be substantial. Shifting as much of your spending as possible onto the credit card will exponentially increase your rewards earnings, and just by paying for the things you already have to buy – bread, milk, electricity, etc – you will get a lot of extra bonuses, from airline tickets to a gift card full of cash.

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