I recently received my credit card bill and was happy to see my cash back amount earned was $120.00, which I called and had them apply to my bill. We only use one credit card and charge everything we purchase in a month. We do not charge anything that we can not pay for when the bill comes due, that way we pay no interest, yet for using the credit card, we receive cash back. As long as you are careful what you charge and know you have the money to pay the credit card bill when due, you get free money while paying out no interest.
I also pay several of my bills by credit card automatically each month, this saves me a stamp and also adds to the cash back amount accumulating with each charge I make. I recently became aware that when anything changes on a credit card, such as a new expiration date, then you have to notify the appropriate billing departments of the changes. Otherwise, you may be hit with late fees when charges to the credit card are denied. This will happen even if the credit card number is the same and your credit is good. Some billing departments will let you know when a card expiration date is coming up and advise you to "resubscribe" to the auto payment. Some are happy to collect late fees.
Again, I stress this is only a good idea if you are budgeting and watching that you do not abuse the charging items you know you do not have the money to pay for when the bill is due, paying interest is not an option unless there is a dire emergency.
By Bobbie G. from Rockwall, TX
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We do the same thing however, our card of choice earns airline miles...travel is important to us.. The only thing that is problematic about this is that many people are so far in credit card debt that they may never recover -- plus I always insure what my interest is, only keep a Visa & MC plus my bank debit card -- I never use a credit card to get cash because of the usery laws but I have moved across country (12K)), purchased an automobile, etc...and actually the credit card companies consider "pay balance monthly people" less than desirable - I probably get a minimum of 2 new cc approved applications per week -- into the shredder they go..I enjoy using someone else's money to earn rewards.
Would love to know which credit cards offer such good deals like the cash back....none of mine do nor have I seen any outside of Discover...do hope someone will post the cards and possible phone number. Thanks....
I use the same technique with my credit card with one difference. My husband and I consider this 'found' or 'free' money and split it between us (much like an allowance) to be used for personal and/or 'selfish' purposes. It is nice to be able to save up for purchasing his Christmas/B'day present, etc.
I googled "reward credit cards" and this helpful list came up in the results:
www.creditcards.com/
Go to bankrate.com to check which credit cards offer the best rewards. I use a Citibank Rewards Mastercard for all grocery, gas and small stand-alone drugstore purchases because it pays me 5 points for each dollar I spend. The only negative is to get the full 5% you have to wait until you have $100 or more in credit and they're good mainly to redeem for gift cards like Home Depot, Sears, etc. For other purchases I use my Citibank Dividend Card that pays 2% cash back for all utility payments and 1% for everything else.
This is not a good time to use credit cards, unless you are paying them off every month. With the economy in such bad shape it is likely that will pay very high interest rates and the company can and will raise your interest rate at any time. If you pay a bill with a credit card you should pay it off as soon as it posts to your account, that is the only way you will get your FICO to go up.
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