I've been mostly a Debit Card guy. I did own a credit card to keep my credit score up. But wanting to maximize my travel, a huge interest and hobby of mine, I started to look into reward credit cards. So apparently there's a huge travel hacking community online. These are people who min/max credit card rewards for crazy trips and hotel stays, all built on credit card rewards and loyalty points from hotels and airlines.
I started with a Chase Freedom Card, but will start adding more to my rotation.
If you want a primer of this in audio form, listen to this podcast episode:
https://www.kevinrose.com/single-post/chris-hutchins
And here's a blog post from the interviewee if you want something in written form:
https://chrishutchins.com/what-credit-card-should-be-in-your-wallet-e509596609e
As a disclaimer, this is US centric. I have no idea about offers like these in other countries, but if you have any recommendations for your country of residence, please participate.
With wages not growing as fast, housing getting more expensive, and so on, rewards CCs seems to be a great way to stretch your dollar. And if you're not a travel junkie, you can get a simple cash back or points card like Amazon's card.
Moreover, I want to stress that taking advantage of these programs should preclude responsible credit management. Many have been ruined by credit cards. In this discussion, I'm assuming you're paying off your account in full each month. I don't want this thread blamed for someone's financial ruin lol.
How to maximize rewards and points?
Put every bill you can on your reward CCs and as much as can your normal shopping on them. Pay them each month in full. For a primer how to this, while saving for retirement, Ramit Sethi's Automate Your Finance video is great. He has a book, but the video is a good start. The website may comes as super salesly, but he's legit. Most of his content is free.
https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/automate-your-personal-finances/
Do you use a CC rewards card or program? What has been your feedback on them?
Resources:
NerdWallet
List of reward CC with categories
I started with a Chase Freedom Card, but will start adding more to my rotation.
If you want a primer of this in audio form, listen to this podcast episode:
https://www.kevinrose.com/single-post/chris-hutchins
And here's a blog post from the interviewee if you want something in written form:
https://chrishutchins.com/what-credit-card-should-be-in-your-wallet-e509596609e
As a disclaimer, this is US centric. I have no idea about offers like these in other countries, but if you have any recommendations for your country of residence, please participate.
With wages not growing as fast, housing getting more expensive, and so on, rewards CCs seems to be a great way to stretch your dollar. And if you're not a travel junkie, you can get a simple cash back or points card like Amazon's card.
Moreover, I want to stress that taking advantage of these programs should preclude responsible credit management. Many have been ruined by credit cards. In this discussion, I'm assuming you're paying off your account in full each month. I don't want this thread blamed for someone's financial ruin lol.
How to maximize rewards and points?
Put every bill you can on your reward CCs and as much as can your normal shopping on them. Pay them each month in full. For a primer how to this, while saving for retirement, Ramit Sethi's Automate Your Finance video is great. He has a book, but the video is a good start. The website may comes as super salesly, but he's legit. Most of his content is free.
https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/automate-your-personal-finances/
Do you use a CC rewards card or program? What has been your feedback on them?
Resources:
NerdWallet
List of reward CC with categories
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