The consumer credit field is a big one, and it seems that every day more and more credit card issuers are fighting for the right to loan you money. In order to attract the most customers, many credit card companies have resorted to offering rewards in exchange for your business. Depending on your particular situation, some rewards credit cards may be genuinely useful, while others may just be gimmicky wastes of your time. This article provides a brief overview of some of the more common types of rewards credit cards.

Rewards credit cards affiliated with air lines are becoming increasingly popular. Customers who use airline rewards credit cards automatically convert part of the amount that they spend on purchases made with the card into airline miles. Since most airline rewards credit cards are affiliated with a particular airline, these rewards credit cards are most suited to travelers who frequently take trips on the same airline. There are often stipulations regarding when and how free airline miles can be redeemed, so it is a good idea to thoroughly understand the policies and procedures of the credit card before signing up for airline rewards credit cards.

Gas credit cards are rewards credit cards that offer customers special incentives to purchase gas from the issuing company. These rewards often take the form of a cash payment or specific percentage of purchases made on gasoline being applied to the account as a credit. Gas rewards credit cards are particularly useful in recent years as more and more consumers begin to feel a financial pinch resulting from increasingly rising gas prices. While the savings are generally fairly modest per gallon, they can add up over time.

Perhaps the most common type of rewards credit cards are those that offer cash back on purchases. From the customer's point of view, this makes great sense. Cash is the easiest of all rewards to spend. While air miles, hotel and rental car discounts, and other benefits commonly found offered by rewards credit cards are always nice, the truth is that nothing can compete with cash in terms of pure usability and flexibility. Those who are interested in rewards credit cards but do not feel that any of the specialty rewards credit cards meet their needs may be interested in investigating cash back credit cards.