My Credit Card Blog

The economy may be struggling with higher gas prices and soaring food costs, and families may be reluctantly tightening their financial belts when it comes to spending money on vacations and even cutting back on basic necessities, but according to a Forbes personal finance article, many of us are under-utilizing a potential source of free money. This source of extra funds stems from loyalty programs, commonly in the form of credit card rewards programs that offer everything from frequent flyer miles for free airline tickets, to free gas and grocery discounts, to free gift cards and straight up cash incentives for everyday purchases. In exchange for becoming a loyal user of their reward credit card program, card issuers are very willing to dish out a large variety of attractive rebates and rewards in the form of free dollars, miles, and redeemable reward points.

While I personally prefer cash back rewards that require little to no redemption maintenance actions, those who want to earn the highest credit card rebates generally go with point rewards or airline mileage offers that provide higher earning opportunities. Of course, with the higher rebate rewards comes the extra work of redeeming and keeping track of bonus points and miles earned. But if you are savvy and don’t mind engaging in a little bit of periodic program micro-managing, you are bound to enjoy quite a bounty of credit card usage incentives.

Oftentimes, card holders are already earning and may already be sitting on a pile of unredeemed rewards that they are neglecting to use. By not taking advantage of already earned points and rewards, consumers are letting these tax-free windfall bonuses slip through their fingers. Make sure you take a good look at the programs you are already a member of. For those of you who are not members of any or wish to know which credit card reward programs are considered by financial experts and noted by authoritative sources like Forbes to be the best credit card offers available based on program flexibility, broad acceptance, and annual fee restrictions, read on. The following list of the best credit card rewards programs were selected by contributors from Forbes based on the following reward categories - airline travel, hotel rewards, restaurant rebates, entertainment rewards, grocery rebates, gas rewards, and your most basic cash back rewards. I offer my own opinionated tidbits as well.

Reviews Of The Top Credit Card Reward Programs Noted By Forbes and Its Credit Card Eggheads

Airlines

1) Capital One No Hassle Miles - With this popular card from Capital One, you earn 1.25 miles for each dollar spent on all purchases. With the mileage reward redemption, there are no blackout dates and no airline seating restrictions. There is no expiration date for the miles earned and no limit on the mileage rewards you can accrue. This Capital One card is a great choice for someone who plans to use the card often.

2) Miles By Discover - With the Discover Miles card, you get 1 mile for every dollar spent on all purchases. You are free to earn unlimited mileage rewards and enjoy no expiration date limitation. The miles you accrue can be redeemed for free travel including free airline tickets, and for gift card rewards. There is also no annual fee to worry about.

3) Chase Travel Plus Visa Card - With the Chase Travel Plus, you can earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all purchases. Your purchase rebate miles can be redeemed for airline tickets, hotel stays, cruises and car rental rewards. You are free to decide on how you’d like to spend your loyalty credit card rewards. Your mileage rewards also enjoy no blackout date restrictions.

4) Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage® World MasterCard - With this Citibank credit card branded with American Airlines’ frequent flyer program, you get to earn 1 mile for every dollar you spend on eligible purchases, up to 100,000 miles per year (that’s a lot). Your AAdvantage® mileage rewards can be redeemed for travel on over 25 airline carriers, as well as towards free car rentals and free hotel stays. As an additional incentive, new applicants can earn 25,000 bonus signup miles after making $750 in purchases within four months of becoming a card member. The first year’s annual fee is waived, but thereafter it’s $85.

5) Platinum Delta Skymiles Amex Credit Card - With the popular American Express card for Delta Airlines, you earn 1 mile for every dollar spent on eligible purchases, good for future free flights. However, you get to earn double miles on every qualifying dollar spent at gas stations, supermarkets, drugstores, home improvement stores, and post offices. As an additional incentive, new sign ups get an instant 20,000 bonus miles after their first purchase. The miles earned never expire, and there is no cap limit to the total number of mileage rewards that can be earned. There is a $135 annual fee.

6) JetBlue Card From American Express - With the Jet Blue Airlines credit card, you earn 1 Award Dollar for every one dollar you spend with it. However, you get to earn double Award Dollars on purchases for travel, dining, entertainment, and leisure. With the conversion rate of 200 Award Dollars for 1 TrueBlue Point, and 100 TrueBlue points equating to one free round trip airline flight, cardholders can earn a free flight after spending $10,000 worth of purchases on double point category expenses. As a special signup card offer, new applicants earn an instant 50 TrueBlue points with their first purchase. The annual fee is $40.

Hotels

1) Hilton HHonors Platinum Credit Card - This is a nice Amex card to carry around if you are a frequenter of Hilton family luxury hotels (if you haven’t stayed at one before - let me tell you, they are really high class). With the Hilton credit card reward program, you earn 3 bonus points for each eligible dollar spent. You get more points - 5 points per dollar for money spent at Hilton hotels. There are no hotel blackout date restrictions and no annual fees.

2) Starwood Preferred Guest (American Express) - The Starwood Preferred card is the Swiss army knife of frequent flyer and hotel loyalty reward cards. You get to earn 1 Starpoint for every dollar spent and double Starpoints at Starwood hotel properties and participating retailers. With the Starwood card, you can earn points for free night stays and upgrades at a huge number of Starwood hotels and international resorts. You can also transfer your Starpoint rewards to select frequent flier programs. The first year’s annual fee is waived, but it’s $45 thereafter. The annual fee after the first year is worth it if you love to travel and do so regularly.

3) Maximum Rewards Platinum Travel Visa (First National Bank of Omaha) - With this credit card offer from FNBO, you can earn 3 rebate points for every dollar spent on air travel and hotel stays. Your accrued FNBO credit card rebates can be redeemed for a large selection of possible rewards. There is no annual fee to worry about.

Restaurants

1) True Earnings Costco Card From American Express - Most dining credit cards only cover fast food places, but the True Earnings Costco credit card covers all restaurant purchases. With the True Earnings rebate rewards card, you earn 3% cash back for gas, 3% for restaurants, 2% for travel, and 1% for everything else, including at Costco warehouse stores. There is no annual fee if combined with your paid Costco membership.

Entertainment

1) American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card - With this classy gold card from Amex, you earn 1 point for virtually every dollar spent, with no preset spending restriction or limit. This card was designed for cardholders who desire exclusivity and special access to unique Gold Card events like exclusive tickets for select concerts, entertainment shows, and sporting events (Super Bowl for example). Reward points can be redeemed for various travel, shopping and entertainment rewards. With the special sign up offer, applicants can earn 10,000 instant bonus points after their first purchase. The first year’s annual fee is waived but it’s $125 thereafter.

2) Disney Rewards Visa Card from Chase - With this cute Disney reward credit card (there are multiple designs to choose from), you earn 1% in Disney Dream Reward Dollars for all purchases. With the Disney card, you are also eligible for discounts at Disney resorts and parks like Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This card has no annual fee.

3) ESPN Total Access From Washington Mutual - With this sports minded reward credit card from WaMu, you earn 5 points for every dollar spent at ESPN stores, and 1 point for everything else. Your ESPN reward points can be redeemed for VIP sport experiences, sports merchandise, travel, dining, and more. New card applicants get an instant 2,500 bonus points after their first purchase. There is also a 0% APR balance transfer offer for 6 months on purchases and balances transferred, with no balance transfer fee. Plus, cardholders also get free monthly FICO credit scores courtesy of Washington Mutual. There is no annual fee.

Groceries

1) Capital One No Hassle Points Rewards - With this no hassle (pun very much intended), point based credit card from Capital One, you earn 2 points per dollar spent on purchases at grocery stores, gas stations, and drugstores. You also get 1 point for every dollar spent on everything else. There is no expiration date for your accrued reward points and no limit to the number of points you can earn.

2) Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card - With the Citibank Diamond Preferred Rewards card, you can earn 5 reward points for every dollar spent at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations for 12 months. For all other purchases, you earn 1 reward point per dollar spent. There is no annual fee to contend with.

Gas

1) BP Visa Rewards Card - If you live near a BP gas station or frequently fill up at BP gas pumps, this card is a must have. With the BP Visa Rewards card, you get to earn 5% cash rebates at all BP gas stations, with no program expiration. To spice up the pot, for the first two months you also get to earn double rewards (an amazing 10% cash back). As for all other eligible travel and dining related purchases, you earn 2% purchase rebates. You get 1% on everything else. There is no limit on rebates and no annual fee.

2) The Chase PerfectCard - With this perfect card (another silly pun for me), you earn 6% rebates on gas purchases made at any gas station for the first 90 days. Thereafter, you still get to earn 3% reward rebates for gas. For everything else, you earn 1% back. There is no annual fee.

3) Capital One No Hassle Miles For Travel and Gas - With this specially designed gas credit card from Capital One, you get to earn 3 miles per dollar spent on travel and gas expenditures. You get to earn 1 mile for each dollar spent on all other purchases. Your mileage rewards can be redeemed for future free airline flights, and there are no blackout dates or seating restrictions imposed. There is also no expiration restriction and no limit on the total number of miles you can earn.

Cash Back Rewards and Rebates

1) Chase Freedom - Who doesn’t like the ease of a cash back credit card? With this extremely popular Chase credit card offer, you get to earn a straight 3% cash back on your top three everyday spending categories. Obviously your top three categories may change from month to month depending on your spending habits, but Chase automatically calculates the best rebate rewards for you. For everything else, you earn 1% cash back for every dollar spent. As an additional reward incentive, you get to receive an extra $50 each time you save and redeem $200 in rewards. As a further promotion, new card sign ups get an instant $50 after their first purchase.

3) Blue Cash from American Express - If you are a big credit card spender, the Blue Cash credit card was designed for you in mind. With this card, you have the potential to earn up to 5% cash back with unlimited cash reward earning potential. The rebate percentages are based on a tiered system so the more you spend, the more cash back you earn per dollar spent. Best of all, there is no annual fee. If instead of American Express this card was offered by Visa or MasterCard, it would indisputably be the very best credit card rewards program available.

2) Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards - With this Capital One cash back credit card, you earn a straight 2% cash back on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores, as well as 1% cash back on everything else. There is no limit on cash back earnings, and your rebate rewards never expire - hence the “no hassle” moniker.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 7:45 am and is filed under Uncategorized, credit card, general, rewards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.