Kristine
Couponing became such a major trend years ago, with some customers purchasing hundreds of items for a few dollars or even being paid to take their products home, that stores have since had to limit the number of coupons a single customer could use at a time.
Since it isn’t quite so easy for extreme cheapskates to stock up on a year’s worth of toiletries during a single shopping trip anymore, there seems to be a new financial loophole that’s becoming increasingly popular: credit card rewards.
But how exactly do bargain hunters take full advantage of the rewards credit card companies offer? Here are a few tried-and-true strategies that can help you earn everything from free flights (yes, really) to heavy discounts on essential items:
Find the best cards for your needs.
To make sure that you can maximize your benefits, it’s important to carefully select a few cards that provide the kinds of rewards that will help you reach your goals.
For example, if you’re on a tight budget but hope to travel post-COVID, signing up for an American Airlines card or an IHG card makes it easier for you to rack up points that can go directly towards your flight or hotel stay. On a similar note, sign up for cards that give you rewards based on the things you purchase most frequently, such as gas or groceries.
If you’re not sure where to begin your research, this credit card comparison tool makes it simple to narrow down your options based on your credit score, preferred card provider, rewards, and other card features.
Meet the minimum spending requirements (without losing money).
Sadly, you can’t get those sweet bonus points for nothing; you have to spend the amount specified by the credit card provider before the bonus points are awarded to you. However, savvy shoppers have their own tactics for “spending” the minimum amount before the deadline without losing any of their hard-earned money. Here are a few strategies:
- While shopping with friends, ask if they’ll let you charge all their purchases to your credit card. You can quickly earn rewards, and they can simply pay you back through Venmo (or whatever the kids are using these days).
- Give micro-loans to entrepreneurs in need through Kiva. Simply choose a borrower to support, and once their business is up and running, you’ll be reimbursed. Win-win!
- Pay off bills ahead of time. Although this may be technically spending money, it’s money that you would have spent anyway. Plus, knocking out 6 months of payments in one go instead of paying month-to-month will take out a big chunk of your minimum spending requirement.
Make sure you spend your points wisely.
Alexandria White, a money reporter at CNBC Select, noticed that shopping with credit card points is rarely the most frugal option. She explains that people should try to aim for a 1:1 ratio whenever they use their points. “A simple way to see if you’re getting a 1:1 value is by taking the cost of the purchase and dividing it by how many points are needed,” White explains. “So, if there’s a $20 Amazon purchase and 2,857 points are required, one point will be worth $0.007.”
Now that you know some tricks of the trade, just be sure you don’t sign up for a dozen new cards at once (unless you want your credit score to drop to an all-time low)!
