subject: How To Make The Most Of Credit Card Offers [print this page] It used to be the case that the best advice one could give users of credit cards was: use one card for one activity and one activity only.
It's still very good advice but the now the problem is that, for millions of people, having two, three or even four cards capable of doing all the different 'jobs' that people need to get done is simply not an option.
It's become increasingly difficult for those without spotless credit records to get hold of cards like this and, in particular, to get hold of multiple cards with the most useful special offers.
The most useful offers of this type include: reward schemes - including those that offer air miles of various kinds, cash back or points schemes some of which are allied to various specific shops; interest-free offers that last for a number of months allowing consumers to pay back money that's on the card without being charged by the provider and offers of credit score checks for free with the card which may be useful for those who are looking to keep an eye on their credit report to improve credit worthiness in the future.
So, the quandary when one goes to compare credit cards is: how can I get everything done without getting into problems?
The problems that can be encountered with a number of card offers at once are chiefly of interest being charged erroneously or confusingly as a result of allocation of payments policies.
For example, since many 0% balance transfer credit cards apply payments to the no-interest balance first, these cards are not suitable for short-term purchases borrowing since it would be impossible for those using the card to clear the balance within the interest free period without also clearing the entire balance of debt that has been transferred to the card.
To make the most of card offers, then, it's vital to find those that will work together without issues.
The Tesco Clubcard credit card, for example, offers points rewards as well as rewards in the form of a zero interest offer on purchases made with the card.
Many other high-paying reward cards also come with interest free purchases deals and this is useful for users of these products for another reasons which I'll lay down here.
To make the most of these cash back or other reward schemes it's vital to move a lot of everyday spending to the card and, in order to get as much back as possible, it may even be preferable to spend a lot on the card in the short-term.
Paying interest would make the rewards null, however, so paying back within a zero interest period would be vital.
