Reward Schemes

The first thing to consider before applying for a credit card which offers such rewards is whether or not this will really earn you any money in the long run.

The whole idea of getting a penny back for every pound you spend sounds very appealing, in fact it sounds like free money.

If your current personal expenditure already sees you spending large amounts of money and you have no need or intention to reduce your spending, then you may be able to make some reasonable gains from this sort of card.

As cashback tend to have much higher interest rates than those which do not offer rewards, this type of plastic is only worth going for if you are able to pay your balance off in full every month. If you are not able to do this, then you should seriously reconsider obtaining one of these cards, as you are going to pay far more in interest than you are going to get back through rewards.

Some cards, known as Hybrid Cards, allow you to tailor the credit card's interest rates and rewards schemes to suit the individual.

If you feel that you are a disciplined consumer, or that there are certain everyday items, such as fuel, that you are going to be purchasing using your credit card anyway, then please read our article "Earn 1% or Save 10%" in our Advice section, and take a look at our cashback credit card review.