Airline miles always offer the promise of “free” travel, but carriers have broken their commitment time and again by raising the number of miles needed for awards while reducing their availability. In response, many reward card users have shifted their preference to cash back credit cards. Although these cards might not offer the same potential value as a free flight, the simplicity and flexibility of cash back will always be appealing.

Here’s a round-up of the top cash back credit card offers with sign-up bonuses available this month.

American Express Blue Cash Everyday -$100 Cash Back: There are two Blue Cash cards which are ideal for families that spend heavily on gas and groceries. The Everyday Card works best for those with modest spending requirements, while the preferred version is ideal for families that can easily justify the annual fee from the extra cash back earned.

Sign-Up Bonus: Earn $100 cash back after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months after opening an account.

Best Money Saving Perks: Cardholders earn 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% everywhere else.

Other Good Perks: There is no annual fee for this card

American Express Blue Cash Preferred – $150 Cash Back

Sign-Up Bonus: Earn $150 cash back after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months after opening an account.

Best Money Saving Perks: Cardholders earn 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% everywhere else. Continue Reading »

Everyone loves to receive rewards from the use of their credit card, but many have discovered too late that the loyalty program is very difficult to use. These programs can advertise attractive rewards, but customers become bewildered by a dizzying array of terms and conditions restricting the use of their points or miles. Fortunately, some programs are still relatively simple to navigate and provide a strong return on cardholder’s spending.

Cash Back Programs

Cash back seems like it would be an easy way to receive rewards, but some banks require customers to claim their cash in difficult ways while others automatically return rewards as gift cards or statement credits. For example, the Capital One No Hassles rewards program allows customers to set their accounts up to receive a statement credit every time they reach $25 of rewards. Likewise, American Express offers the Clear card that allows customers to receive a $25 gift card every time they spend $2,500. Continue Reading »

Many popular credit cards are heavily advertised using the lure of rewards including cash back and free travel. From the bank’s standpoint, this only makes sense as few would be encouraged to apply for a credit card after being reminded of the possibility of debt or fees. While many cardholders are able to use their cards to earn fantastic rewards, these products are not well suited to those who tend to carry a balance.  In fact, there are three great reasons why those who have credit card debt should not be using reward credit cards.

First, those who carry a balance should be concerned primarily with find a card with the lowest possible interest rate. Unfortunately, these tend not to be available on reward cards. The cost of extending cash back or other types of rewards is justified by the higher interest rates charges. Continue Reading »

While airline credit cards have always tended to offer consumers the most lucrative sign up bonuses, the current trend among the best airline and travel credit cards today is to offer long term, value adding perks that extend beyond initial sign up bonuses of 25,000 or more frequent flyer miles.

The two best airline credit cards available today, for example, waive fees on checked bags and offer priority boarding to cardholders. Perks such as these are often worth much more over the long term than miles, even for consumers who only travel the same airline once a year.

Below are details on the best offers available this month:

United MileagePlus Explorer Card

Sign-Up Bonus: The United credit card offers up to 40,000 free MileagePlus frequent flyer miles – the largest bonus currently available from a major U.S. carrier. Continue Reading »

Credit card users want to earn the best credit card rewards on their card spend. These rewards typically come in the form of cash back or loyalty points with the most popular type of loyalty point offering being frequent flier miles. Unfortunately, frequent flyer credit cards have many drawbacks, especially due to the fact that large airlines have been limiting award availability while raising the number of miles needed to for many flights, thereby decreasing the value of miles.

Due to adverse miles revaluations, customers have become increasingly frustrated with this reality, and in response, banks have begun to promote their own loyalty point systems. Citi’s proprietary ThankYou program lets cardholders earn points that can be redeemed for cash back, travel, gift cards or a variety of merchandise rewards.

How the Citi ThankYou Rewards Program Works

Eight different Citi credit cards allow members to earn ThankYou points. These products are the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card, Citi Forward Card, Citi ThankYou Premier Card, Citi ThankYou Prestige Card, AT&T Universal Savings & Rewards Card, CitiBusiness World MasterCard, and the AT&T Universal Business Rewards Card. Continue Reading »

The credit card industry has always had an obsession with the idea of exclusivity. How else can one explain the proliferation of cards named after precious stones and metals such Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Sapphire?  While it is no longer the least bit exceptional to have a gold colored card in one’s wallet, there are still many other non-reward perks that a bank can offer its cardholders that might not be available to the general public.

Citibank’s Private Pass website – www.citiprivatepass.com is a prime example of how credit card companies are striving to create a sense of exclusivity in order to appease consumers seeking unique experiences.

How Private Pass Works

Holders of any Citi credit card or Citibank debit MasterCard – regardless of whether it offers credit card rewards – can gain access to the Private Pass web site.   Through Citi’s relationship with Live Nation, cardholders can gain access to various concert, theater, and entertainment and sporting events. Citi offers ticket presales, preferred seating, and VIP packages. For example, in 2102, Citi offered an Alumni Super Bowl Weekend VIP Package that included two tickets to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis Indiana, as well as hotel accommodations and access to many different NFL Alumni events over the weekend. Continue Reading »

Over the past few months, the Citi ThankYou Rewards program has been vastly improved. The value of ThankYou Reward points earned has been increased substantially as has the overall quality of promotional offers made available to new customers. At present, there are two different Citi ThankYou cards available and three different offers to choose from. Here, we’ll take a look at these offers and consider who can benefit the most from the various promotions.

Offer #1: The Citi ThankYou Card

While the basic Citi ThankYou card is lacking in the sign-up bonus relative to other offers, it does presently offer the longest 0% introductory period of any rewards credit card on the market. With a 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases, this ThankYou card is definitely the best option for consumers who currently have credit card debt – and can benefit from a 15 month balance transfer – as well as those who may incur some debt in the coming months. Continue Reading »