subject: 5 Ways Your Credit Card Could Reward You [print this page] It's not fashionable to say it these days but credit cards can still be rewarding for many users.
Without certain attractions the plastic products just wouldn't be as popular as they are today and the things drawing consumers aren't lies: credit cards can really be rewarding rather than just encouraging consumers to rack up debts and this article has five examples to prove it.
The examples seek to prove, too, that it's not only rewards schemes that can be rewarding when it comes to cards.
As a first step, though, let's mention rewards schemes.
These are often a way for cardholders to rack up points which can be spent elsewhere at a later date. However, they are most rewarding when they're automatically deducted so that it doesn't take much extra effort to redeem them.
The second obvious point is that air miles credit cards can be very rewarding indeed.
Note, however, that air miles shouldn't be confused with use abroad credit cards.
Those cards reduce the fees and charges that travellers incur abroad rather, air mile cards often actually have quite a lot of fees on use in foreign currencies.
Third, remember that your credit card you be rewarding you in a more subtle way: improving your credit rating.
A good credit rating will save money on loans and other financial products for years to come.
Forth, balance transfers may not seem like an obvious reward but they're a neat way to undo the effect of credit cards - getting into debt - that is more well known than the rewards they offer.
0% balance transfer credit cards offer the opportunity to avoid high interest for a long period, often much more than a year.
This allows borrowers with a budget to pay less on what has become an essential for them and that can be no bad thing.
Fifth, and finally, is a point that you won't find listed in any credit card comparison. It's that credit cards offer more consumer protection that other forms of payment.
Under law, purchases over 100 are protected under section 75 of the consumer credit act in such a way that the bank or card provider must offer a full refund for undelivered goods where the retailer cannot refund the consumer.
It's hard to put a price on this reward because it depends on how large the purchases are that you make with a card and whether you're ever unlucky enough to need the protection.
For many, though, it can be said to have been invaluable.
