Credit Card Cash Back Strategies

by Andy Hough on January 23, 2012

One of the ways I like to save money is by getting cash back from my credit cards. There are many different types of reward credit cards available. When deciding which credit card is best you need to choose which one is the best for you based on your needs. First, you need to know whether having a credit card will cause you to spend more than you would with cash. If having a credit card does cause you to spend more than you probably should not have one because even if you are getting rewards you are likely losing money compared to just using cash.

If you are able to use a credit card responsibly then you need to look at how you spend your money. If you do a lot of driving you might want a gas rewards credit card, if you fly a lot you might want to look at airmiles credit cards. Or you might just want to choose a general rewards credit card that rewards you with cash. Those are the ones I have and I chose them for their bonus cashback categories.

Of course you don’t have to choose just one rewards credit card. I have three credit cards that I use. My Chase Freedom card offers 5% cash back on select rotating categories and gives me 1% cash back on everything else. My Discover card I try to use only on their 5% cash back categories. I attach a post-it note to these cards to remind myself of the current 5% cash back categories. My Target card is used to get a 5% discount at Target. There are probably even better deals out there but I don’t want to chase every credit card deal that is offered. The system I have is pretty simple and it works for me so I don’t plan on making any big changes.

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

PK January 24, 2012 at 10:16 am

Or one of each? I have a 5% card on Bookstores/Theaters/Restaurants another for Gas, and another for Groceries/Drug Stores, along with a rotating category card. I figure I should have as many of my bases covered as possible!

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Andy Hough January 24, 2012 at 11:36 am

That makes sense but I just don’t want to get any more cards right now. I’m just trying to get the most out of the cards I already have.

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retirebyforty January 26, 2012 at 1:16 pm

I have a Chase freedom card too and it’s my main card. I’m pretty happy with it in general. I probably should get an airline card to get miles.

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Andy Hough January 26, 2012 at 3:05 pm

I’ve thought about getting an airline card but I don’t travel that much right now. Of course if I were earning free trips with an airline card that could change.

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