Best Rewards Cards 2018: Rewards Credit Card Reviews

There are many great reasons to use credit cards. They’re convenient, they offer consumer protections that you can’t get with cash or debit cards, and they are often required for things like rental car or hotel reservations. But one of the best benefits that credit cards offer is the ability to earn rewards.

In fact, rewards-based credit cards are exceptional financial products. They allow you to earn cash back (or points, or miles) on the things you buy anyway. Choose a card that aligns with your spending style, and you can earn even more back on things like groceries, gas, dining, or travel. Then, redeem those rewards for statement credits, gift cards, or even the vacation of a lifetime.

Every card is different, and the rewards offered can vary from one issuer to another. Let’s talk about the most common cash back benefits, though, and how they can transform your finances.

Types of Rewards

There are a few different types of credit card rewards that you can earn. The one you choose to accumulate should match your preferences both in spending and redemption. After all, there’s no point in building up an account full of points that you don’t really need or will never use; your spending would be much better served elsewhere.

Here’s a look at the different types of credit card rewards you can earn, and why you would want each one.

Cash Back

Some credit cards only give you the chance to earn cash back rewards. This means that whether you get 1% or 10% back from your spending (or anything in between), you’ll redeem all of that for cash. Other credit cards give you the option to redeem your rewards for cash back, or utilize them in other ways (often with a bonus offer).

Cash back rewards are great because they are simple. You earn a certain amount back on your spending, and then you turn around and cash it in… literally. You’ll usually get your cash back in the form of a statement credit on your account, which you can put toward paying off your balance each month.

Miles

Credit card rewards in the form of miles are typically offered by travel credit cards. And, as the name implies, they are most often redeemed toward future travel, usually in the form of airline miles that can be used towards flights.

Miles are excellent if you like to travel. Whether you go home for the holidays or like to plan exotic locations, your credit card miles can take you there. Many times, your miles can also be used for other forms of travel, such as rental cars, cruises, and even hotel stays.

It’s much faster to earn enough miles for award flights with rewards credit cards, too, as opposed to trying to rack up miles by actually flying. This makes it easier to reach a desired status with your preferred airline, for instance, or even earn companion passes so that others can travel with you.

Just because your credit card offers you rewards in the form of miles, though, that doesn’t always mean that you have to redeem them for travel. With many credit cards, you can put your miles toward any number of redemption options. You can even get cash back in the form of statement credits, in many instances.

Points

Many rewards credit cards today offer points for every purchase you make. This makes it very easy to earn versatile rewards that can be used in a number of ways.

Most of the card issuers handing out rewards points will also offer cardholders a portal from which to redeem those points. These portals usually allow cardholders to cash in for travel expenses, purchase merchandise, exchange points for gift cards, or even transfer points to their favorite airline/hotel loyalty program.

So, just how can you earn all of these rewards, regardless of the form in which they’re offered?

How to Earn Rewards

Every rewards-based credit card has its own set of rules. Some will get you rewards on everything you buy; others will only reward you for purchases in specific categories. Some will reward every dollar you spend, without limit; others only offer cash back on the first X number of dollars spent in a year.

Here are the most common ways that you can earn credit card rewards, though.

Bonuses

The easiest way to earn a large number of rewards with a credit card is to snag a bonus. The largest bonus you’ll typically find, of course, is the welcome or sign-up bonus, offered to brand new cardholders.

Sign-up bonuses vary from issuer-to-issuer, and even card-product-to-card-product. They also change all the time, so you’ll need to strike when the iron is hot, as they say. Some bonus offers are also targeted, so you may get a different bonus than the next guy, just depending on where and how you apply for the card.

Most credit card welcome bonuses have a minimum spend requirement. You’ll need to charge a certain amount to the card within a specific period of time (typically, the first three or four months of owning the card) in order to qualify. If you don’t hit this minimum spend, you won’t earn your big welcome bonus.

The better the bonus, the higher the minimum spend usually is in order to qualify. For instance, you can expect that a card offering a welcome bonus worth only a $50 has a lower spend requirement than a card with a bonus worth $650. As long as you can meet the requirements, though, the initial minimum spend is usually well-worth the effort.

There are many ways that you can meet this spending requirement, too. You could pre-pay bills, stock up on grocery store or gas station gift cards, buy holiday and birthday gifts early, and more.

Flat-Rate Rewards

Some credit cards offer flat-rate rewards. This means that you will earn a set percentage (usually between 1-3x) on everything you buy, regardless of what it is or where it’s purchased.

For instance, there are cards where you’ll receive 2 points for every dollar you spend. Buy groceries? Get 2 points per dollar. Pay for dinner? Get 2 points per dollar. Pay off your property taxes? Get 2 points per dollar. Buy a flight for a business trip? Get 2 points per dollar.

You get the point.

These cards make earning rewards easy. You know exactly how many points you earn simply by how much you spend in any given month. It levels the rewards playing field, making each dollar equal to the next and accruing the same points everywhere you go.

Tiered Category Rewards

Some credit cards take a different approach, making your credit card rewards a bit more complex. Fortunately, you’re usually rewarded a little extra for the trouble, in the form of higher cash back in specific spending categories.

There are travel credit cards, which will offer you a higher percentage back on purchases like airfare, hotels, rental cars, and dining. There are everyday credit cards that offer up to 6% back on things like groceries, gas, and department store purchases, for instance. There are many tiered rewards cards out there, each offering its own mix of high-cash back categories.

Most of these cards will also offer you a set percentage back on the purchases made outside of those high-tier categories. For instance, you might get 6% back only at grocery stores and 3% back only on gas, but you’ll still get 1% back on everything else you buy, from utility bills to fast food.

You’re unlikely to find a credit card that perfectly matches your specific spending, though, so you may need to utilize more than one card to really optimize those tiered rewards. In your home, for example, you might spend the most money on groceries and gas. However, the card that offers you the highest percentage back for groceries might not be the one that offers you the most back for gas.

Signing up for both cards (or more) and using them accordingly is the easiest way to maximize your earned benefits . Shopping Portals

Using a cash back credit card is an easy way to earn rewards on every penny you spend, and sign-up bonuses are excellent for snagging bulk rewards off the bat. However, there is another way that you can earn rewards each day: using a shopping portal.

Shopping portals are incredibly valuable ways to earn miles, points, or cash back anytime you make a purchase online. Not only will you earn rewards by using your cash back credit card, but you’ll also earn even more through the portal itself. Some portals are offered by the credit card companies, while some are offered by airlines, hotels, or third-party companies.

Let’s say that you wanted to buy online from your favorite department store. You have a cash back credit card that already offers you 3% back on department store purchases, but you want to earn more. This is where a portal comes into play.

Your credit card’s portal might offer you an additional 4 points per $1 spent, just for shopping through their portal’s link. Or, your favorite airline rewards program might offer you 15 miles per $1 spent for using their link. Either way, you can find a way to earn much more than the standard cash back that your card offers, just for going through a portal first for your online purchases.

How to Use Rewards

The only thing more important than earning rewards is how you choose to spend them. Typically, you’ll be offered a number of different options for redeeming those rewards, too.

Actual Cash Back

As mentioned already, there are some credit cards that only offer you cash back for your rewards. This means that you’ll be able to redeem these earnings for a statement credit on your account, typically once you reach a certain threshold (around $25). With other cards, though, cash back is an option you can utilize.

If the idea of cashing in your rewards for a statement credit sounds right up your alley, most card issuers will offer this option. You’ll usually get a 1:1 redemption rate for cash, too, although the actual rate will vary between issuers (and even between card products).

While cash sounds very appealing – especially if you’ve racked up a significant statement balance – it’s not usually the best redemption option. There are usually other ways to stretch your rewards a bit further by redeeming them in other ways.

With that said, though, cash back is often the easiest, most straightforward, and most convenient way to redeem your rewards.

Gift Cards

Some credit cards won’t offer you a statement credit option for your rewards, but will instead allow you to choose gift cards. Other issuers will offer gift card redemptions as yet another option, and even occasionally offer you a bonus redemption rate in turn.

Gift cards are usually offered to a large number of stores and companies. By choosing cards that correlate with planned future spending (such as gas stations in your area or your favorite grocery store), you can ensure that you redeem those rewards in a smart way.

Some credit card companies will even offer bonuses for gift cards. For instance, you might be able to get a $25 gift card for the same “price” as a $20 cash back redemption. In that case, you’re getting a 25% bonus, and that free $5 is usually worth choosing a gift card over cash.

When choosing a gift card, just be sure that it’s something you will use, as opposed to something you might want to use. Otherwise, you could wind up stuck with a card that just collects dust in a drawer – or spending extra money somewhere that you didn’t need to spend – when you could have gotten a statement credit instead.

Travel Expenses or Experiences

If your rewards-based credit card company offers you a travel portal for redemptions, count your lucky stars. These are often incredible ways to not only redeem your earnings, but stretch those points further than ever.

With many card issuers, you can redeem your earned points or miles for any number of travel experiences. Whether you need to book a flight back home, a hotel at Disney, or a European cruise, you can do so quickly and easily through a card portal. You’ll not only get discount pricing in most cases, but you can “pay” using your accrued rewards.

Your rewards will typically go further than cash here, too. For instance, your card issuer’s portal may find your $400 flight for only $375, which would already save you some cash. If you use rewards to pay for the flight, though, you might only have to pay 25,000 points (or $250 cash value). This means that you won’t pay any money out of pocket, and you’ll also save quite a bit versus trading those points in for cash.

Potential Pitfalls

While cash back credit cards are incredible financial products, it can be easy to trip yourself up while using them. There are a few pitfalls to be aware of before you start earning rewards, to ensure that you truly maximize your benefits.

Paying Interest

First and foremost: you will not come out ahead whilst using a rewards-based credit card if you carry a balance over. Paying interest makes no sense if you’re trying to earn rewards, as the 5% you might earn on your spending is easily overshadowed by the 16%+ that you’ll spend in fees.

Carrying a balance on a credit card is almost never a good idea, with the exception of a planned payoff using an introductory 0% APR offer. If you’re spending on a card in order to earn rewards, it makes even less sense. You’ll risk digging yourself into a hole of debt and you’ll pay more than you’ll earn in the end.

Overspending to Earn Rewards

Earning cash back rewards is fun. In fact, handing over a 6% cash-back-on-groceries credit card each time you buy food is almost exhilarating, especially once you realize how much you’re earning. However, that feeling can lead to overspending in some cases.

Staying on budget, regardless of cash back rewards, should always be your primary focus. Earning an extra few dollars in rewards doesn’t matter much if you bust your budget for the month in the process.

In some cases, you may even offer to pick up tabs, “to get the points.” While there’s nothing wrong with this (budget-permitting), it can be easy to be too generous if you’re only thinking about your points balance.

Lastly, if you get a new card that offers a sign-up bonus, you’ll probably need to meet a spending requirement. This can be dangerous ground, depending on your typical spending habits, and can easily result in overspending. If you aren’t careful to only buy what you need and spend smart, you could wind up going into debt just to earn a few thousand extra points.

Not Earning Bonuses

Speaking of sign-up bonuses, they’re a double-edged sword. You need to be careful how you spend when earning the, but you also want to do everything in your power to get them. After all, leaving a bonus offer on the table is the same as potentially leaving hundreds of dollars behind.

There are many ways to meet your minimum spending requirement without actually spending more money. For instance, you could prepay a year’s worth of insurance premiums, or buy gift cards for your preferred grocery store/gas station. You could even pay for things like tuition or rent, even if there’s a small processing fee involved.

You’ll know the required minimum spend before you even apply for the rewards card in question, so make sure that you can responsibly meet it. Once you get the card, ensure that you spend smart while also hitting that threshold in time, so that you don’t leave a great bonus offer behind.

Redemption Choices

One of the biggest pitfalls with credit card rewards is related to how you redeem them. There are good ways to use your rewards, great ways to use your rewards, and flat-out bad ways to use your rewards.

For instance, some credit card companies will offer you merchandise that you can “buy” with your rewards. They’re usually promoted as being at a discount and, of course, you don’t actually have to spend a penny to get them. However, these are still overpriced most of the time, and you won’t be making the best use of your rewards in almost every case.

If your card issuer offers you a gift card for a store you frequent (like your favorite grocer) at a bonus, this might be an excellent redemption choice. However, choosing a fun place you think you want to check out? That’s probably not a wise choice, especially if there’s no bonus offer involved.

In many cases, getting cash back (in the form of a statement credit) is the least-lucrative redemption option you’re given. Instead, it would be smarter to cash in those rewards for things like flights, hotel stays, cruises, and more. You’ll not only get discounts when you buy through your card’s rewards portal, but you’ll usually get a better redemption rate, too.

Do I Need Rewards?

Choosing a credit card that offers rewards is a no-brainer. If you’re spending the money anyway, why not earn something for it in the process? Whether you redeem those earnings for cash, gift cards, or even travel plans, it’s still free money that is easy to earn.

The trick with credit card rewards is to earn and spend them wisely. Don’t spend just to earn rewards, and don’t redeem rewards just for the sake of doing so. By optimizing both your spending and your redemptions, you’ll see just how lucrative cash back credit cards can be.

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U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card