Credit card rewards are amazing things and if you want to know how to benefit from them 100%, I'm going to give you some pointers and how you can take advantage of the credit card companies. The process is fairly easy and as long as you follow my advice, I will guarantee you that you will come home with rewards month after month.
Pay your bill off in full – Each and every month, you have to make sure that you pay your bill off in full. If you don't pay it off in full, the interest rates are going to kill you. This of course is going to offset the rewards that you're going to get. Let's use an example really quick. Let's say you have a 19% interest rate. If you have a $100 bill, that's $19 for the year. 100 points won't even get you close to any rewards and even if you get close to a $50 gift card, you have to subtract the interest rates.
Live within your means – Never spend more than what you can afford. This is what gets you in trouble when you're using your credit card. Always make sure that you buy what you can afford and that way, when you get your bill, you won't be shocked by it. If you're having a hard time with your bill, try and write down what you're buying each and every month. If that doesn't work, check online with your accounts to see what your monthly balance is. The people who can't pay their bills off in full are the ones that don't know what kind of bill they are going to get in the mail.
Try to use it for everything – If you're good with a credit card, try and use it for everything. Use it for your car payments, your mortgage and everything else under the sun. Think of it this way. If you spend $2,000 on bills each and every month, that's $24,000 a year. Even if you get one point per dollar and I think you'll get more than that, that's 25,000 points! That's enough for airline tickets, gift cards and everything else. Remember this can get dangerous if you don't pay it off in full but as long as you do, you'll be fine and this is where most of the people benefit from it.
Know your points – You may find that you need to get another card for each expense. If you can capitalize off gas with a gas card, get a gas card as well as a card that benefits you with groceries. It never hurts to get more than one card. Your goal in the long haul is to capitalize on all of your points.
A credit card can offer great rewards. As long as you follow the tips above, I can guarantee you that you'll walk home every few months with great rewards like gift cards, plane tickets and more. Make sure that you're responsible and as long as you are, you'll see great perks!