Get The Most Out of Credit Cards This Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner, many consumers in the UK will see their wallets feel the strain of Christmas shopping. With many already overspending, one way to relieve the financial pressure over the festive season is to see what credit and store cards in the marketplace can save you money and offer rewards for those spending sprees.

For those who exercise financial discipline and tend to meet their financial commitments on time choosing a credit card that offers rewards for spending will prove to be financially prudent over the coming months.

There are a plethora of cards out there in the UK that offer various rewards such as gifts, cash back or points that can be redeemed at high street stores. Deciding to concentrate the majority of ones’ spending with one of these credit cards can entitle you to some of these gifts and rewards.

As shopping and petrol take a massive chunk out of many UK household budgets, taking out a store credit card from Asda and Tesco, for example, can allow a shopper to reap many benefits. Asda’s credit card rewards cardholders by crediting the cardholder with one point for every £2 spent, with a 100 points being traded for a £1 voucher. A few months of shopping could see a cardholder receiving up to a £5 voucher.

Tesco credit cards offer similar loyalty schemes with clubcard points being redeemable for vouchers that can be used at any of their stores.

There are also great credit card deals out there for those who use their cards for regular spending, such as the weekly shopping, and desire travel rewards. For those who are a keen traveller, pick a card such as the BMIbaby credit card, for example, as it offers a free return flight anywhere on its network with your first purchase, and if you spend at least £5k a year (around £417 a month) on the card you'll earn another free flight.

Whilst store cards generally tend not to be the best value due to their typically high rates of interest, there are a few that offer some decent value deals at this time of year. Store cards should only be considered by those who are disciplined at paying of their debt on a monthly basis and as such can enjoy the rewards. Some store cards offer 10% first purchases as well as a host of other rewards when shopping with that particular store chain.

Bear in mind that there is no such thing as ‘a free lunch’ and that credit card companies don’t make these offers available out of the kindness of their hearts. Not being able to clear the balanced each month will result in accumulative interest on a card’s account.

Alisdair Milton
1st December 2006

More Information:

• Cash Back or Rewards
  In the battle for new customers, credit card companies are offering to reward users for simply spending on their cards. The two most attractive systems seem to be cash back and rewards
• The Value Of Having Branded UK Credit Card Loyalty Programs
  Anyone who has taken even the briefest of looks at the UK credit card industry will immediately notice that there are well over a thousand credit card providers. However, even in this hugely competitive industry, there are still only two main types of card available – the Visa card and the MasterCard.
• How To Earn Nectar Points With Reward Credit Cards
  The Nectar point scheme is a scheme that allows credit card users and other shoppers to earn points through purchases. The Nectar scheme has been running since September 2002. As with other reward points schemes, the Nectar points scheme allows shoppers to earn at the rate of 2 points for every pound spent.
  

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