Credit Card Rewards: In Close Scrutiny

It is not everyday that people get something for free. That is why whenever there are some freebies or rewards, the common tendency is to grab the opportunity. This is particularly regular in the credit card industry. In fact, it is for this reason why most credit card companies offer different credit card rewards. They know that people will be enticed to sign up for a credit card not just because they need it but also because they want the rewards. Credit card rewards are already accepted by the public as part of the credit cards. It is, basically, the greatest marketing tool of every credit card company in order to entice people to sign up. With a growing fierce competition among the card businesses, offering some rewards is the only way to persuade a consumer to use a particular credit card instead of the other one. In turn, there are many rewards as there are many credit cards in the market today that people do not even realize that many of them are not actually necessary. Hence, it is important to analyze first the rewards being offered by the card company before signing up. The problem with most people is that just because a particular credit card offers many rewards they tend to get one even if they had enough. No wonder why the average American household had been reported to have 7 to 10 credit cards in a 2002 survey. Indeed, nobody can ever question the proliferation of rewards in the credit card industry. It is the credit card company's way of getting a sale, so it should be left that way. What should be done is for the consumers to know and analyze the kind of rewards they really need. Here is a list of some rewards that people should learn to evaluate if they really need them on their credit cards. 1. Cash back rewards Many credit card companies offer cash back rewards. These companies insist that they can give their costumers free cash just by using their credit cards every time the customers purchase something. It sounds like a good idea, but one should bear in mind that most credit card companies could only give "1% cash back." In addition, not all purchases have cash backs. In reality, the company will only give cash back to some particular transactions, not all. What is even worse, some companies give the rewards annually, usually within the date the card has been activated. That would mean a long time to wait for incentives. 2. Freebies Most credit card companies will offer freebies to their customers. These freebies are usually redeemed once the user was able to accumulate the necessary points. These points are accrued every time the consumers use their credit card for purchases. After building up some points, the consumers can exchange these for some free items. These things can be pretty useful especially if a person has some need for the item he or she had received. However, people should keep in mind that freebies and reward points may vary from company to the other. Hence, it is important to evaluate this kind of reward as well. 3. Airline Miles Some credit card companies offer "airline miles" every time the credit card holder makes a purchase. Accumulated airline miles can be exchanged for some airline tickets. This kind of reward can be very useful especially if the credit card holder travels a lot. Otherwise, it would not do anything much as a reward. These are just a few of the many rewards that credit cards offer. All of them can be very beneficial; there is no doubt about it. The only drawback is when the customer has no use for it. Therefore, it can be concluded that credit card rewards are only true to those who can benefit from it. Otherwise, rewards are not rewards but plain marketing strategy on the run.