Cashback

Getting cash back from your purchases is always a good thing isn’t it?  If you can make a few quid whilst spending a few then it makes life a little eaier to handle.  Barclaycard Freedom is a reward system that allows you to accululate cash on your credit card and not in your wallet.  This is particularly good for those who don’t want to save for anything in particular.  If you leave the cashback on your credit card then you can redeem it against the purchase you’ve been saving up for.

Reward cards

It’s all about getting the right reward card for you here isn’t it?  What you need is a card that works for you.  So there is no point in getting a credit card that offers free airmiles if you can never afford to travel like that; no matter how much you think that it’s the only credit card who will accept you, you’re wrong.  You need something that offers rewards a little more immediate don’t you?  A little like money of CDs and DVDs or cinema tickets.

Shop around!

When i say easy to use i mean that what they are designed to to happens without you having to do a single thing.  They work in much the same way as the football credit cards i mentioned in an earlier post.  All you do is spend money on the charity credit card and then a certain percentage of that money goes to your named charity.

The percentage is tiny, and it almost seems insignificant, but you must remember that there are many many people with charity credit cards and that when you add up all the other users of the cards you will soon see that whatever charity it is that you support gains an awful lot of revenue from this.  It’s certainly worthwhile sacrificing your other rewards in order to help a charity isn’t it?  Could this be your one selfless good deed?

It’s called the football credit card and it’s a relatively new type of credit card that has been born from the charity credit card types and things like that.  If you can donate money to your favourite charity through using your credit card then there should be no reason you can’t donate to your favourite football club either should there?  Well that’s what the credit card companies have thought, and in a rather clever move they have decided to offer credit cards with your favourite football club as primary beneficiary of any rewards you might get from spending money on your card.

That’s right, every time you spend some money your football club will get some cashback!  This is a great way to support your football team withouth even trying; in fact when you go to buy your overpriced football strip, do it with your football credit card and you might just help that little bit more!  It has to be worth it doesn’t it?  Especially if your team isn’t doing so well!

So you’re one of the lucky ones with a good credit rating.  Well you’re about as rare as chocolate fireguards in the world of credit cards, and i almost feel as though there is nothing i can say to you since you’ve got such a glowing, angelic credit score.  However, there are some things that might improve your life( if indeed you need any improvements).

• When you have a good credit score you can take full advantage of the more premium credit cards on the market.
• The better credit cards offer more bonuses to you as you spend money on them.  This is usually because you can afford to pay them off.  Weekend breaks, free airmiles and things like this are just the tip of the iceberg with many premium credit cards.  Also if you get a card that offers cashback you are always guaranteed the greater rate of cashback if you have a more expensive credit card.

It is true that money breeds money.  If you have a great credit card then the bonuses are well worth it.

It all works out in the end don’t worry.  The idea of a bad credit card is to make you take out credit, but more importantly make you pay it back.  This allows future lenders and credit card companies to see that you have seen the error of your ways in the past and you have changed into a responsible person to whom credit can be feely given without risk.  In theory the more credit you can get when you have a bad credit score the better; providing you pay it all off regularly and don’t miss a payment; missing a payment will ruin it all.

There is usually only one bad thing about a bad credit card, and that’s usually the interest rate; it’s usually through the roof!  This is to make sure you don’t miss your payments, because if you do you will be severely punished by this interest rate, and not only that, your attempts at improving your credit score will be significantly set back.

However, most bad credit card companies will also ensure that your credit limit is not over what you are likely to be able to pay back.  This is very important because it teaches you in future to only buy on credit what you can pay back at the end of the month.

The fist one on the list is usually the Capital One Progress card lately and it’s not too bad:

• High 34.9% interest rate.  However, this rate shrinks by 5% every six months if you maintain a healthy account and the balance is paid in full every month.
• Realistic credit limits of up to £2,500
• Identity theft protection.
• Online account management to make sure you’re doing everything right.
• Purchase protection insurance.
• Also a free credit report, just so you know what you’re up against.

These should be steps that you are willing to take in order to clear up your bad debts and not get into any more.  The worst reason for getting into further debt is the one that suggests you were trying to get out of it!  How frustrating is that?

Barclaycard will provide all those offers that you’ve just read, but lets now have a look at Amex.  The American Express Card hasn’t always been synonymous with business use has it?  It’s usually been used as a premium card for rich folks and frequent flyers.  Well here are the jucy bits so you can compare it to the other big boy on the market in the business world:

• Up to 39 days interest free credit when you pay your balance in full at the end of the month.  This is only one day more than Barclaycard, but you can see that it’s already better.
• The Everyday Saving Programme allows you to save up to 30%.  Barclaycard don’t have this
• Free additional credit cards for employees.  Barclaycard don’t offer this.
• Annual management report every tax year.  Find out how the card is being used by employees etc.
• No annual fee for the first year; then £95 a year after this.  Barclaycard say nothing about fees so i can only assume they don’t charge them for annual membership.
• Membership rewards, not discount from suppliers like Barclaycard.  This can be seen as a pro or a con.  Personally i think that Barclaycard had it better in this area.

The BarclayCard Commercial Visa Platinum Corporate Charge

This card, despite having perhaps the longest possible credit card name, is perfect for business.  Here are some of its primary benefits:

• You get up to a 38 day interest free period when your balance is paid in full on time at the end of every month.
• Easy to use, accessible online account management for your credit card expenses etc.
• Excellent discounts from a wide range of different business suppliers.  This is a very useful tool indeed to be attached to your business credit card; particularly when some of the suppliers are companies like Ryman and the AA.

So here it is, the summary.  If you want to run a business, whether it’s small or large, you cannot afford to not have a business credit card.  This is especially so because this particular credit card has all the benefits of a regular card with all the added extras of the business perks like the discounts and the extensive online account management.

When you’re in business you need to be organised.

The great thing about this kind of credit card is that you can only spend what has been pre loaded onto the card.  This is a great way to pay your kids pocket money and enable them to learn how to manage credit from a very early age.  Let’s face it, cash will probably be a swear word in the future or about as useful as a chocolate fireguard so the way forward must be to teach our children how to use credit responsibly.

By only having a certain amount on the credit card you’re kids will soon realise that just because they have plastic it doesn’t give them an endless supply of money and that it’s best to buy with the money you have already and not with money you’ll end up owing to someone else.  It isn’t just about being responsible with credit cards either because the average pre-paid credit card will also work in cash machines across the country and even abroad if they’re backed by someone like Mastercard.  The fact that you are enabled to get cash with it makes it perfect to pay your kids.  They can learn about managing their money by shopping with a credit card, and shopping with cash, and they’ll also learn that you can’t buy with what you don’t have.  This is often the best way to teach children about money because they feel like they’re learning themselves and that you are not telling them what to do.

They are essentially a reward scheme, but instead of points and prizes and all that other nonsense you get from some credit cards, with a cashback credit card you get cash; lots of lovely cash!  So which ones are best at the moment? 

N.B It is important to note that this advice and evidence is correct on the day of publication.  Interest rates and offers vary all the time and these can change quite dramatically.

The reason they offer the cashback is simple really; they want you to spend money and create a large debt for which they can charge you ridiculous amounts of interest on.  What else would they give you money for?

The one that stands out from the crowd here in the UK is of course American Express.  This card has always been an elite card that has offered great deals ever since its beginning, and now it’s no different.  This great credit card is offering you an introduction offer of 5% cashback on purchases (just to get you spending!) and a whopping 1.25% after that.  Now if you can afford to pay off your monthly credit card bill then you could be well on the way to making an awful lot of money!