#Reward Credit Cards

The following reward credit cards from our partners feature either cash back or rewards programs. Rewards Program Credit Cards "reward" you for using them with cash back incentives and rebate programs.

Tips for choosing a rewards credit card

A rewards card can be a great choice for the right kind of cardholder. After all, who doesn't love a gift?

You can earn free airline tickets, hotel stays, cash back, gift cards, even novelty vacations -- there's no shortage of potential perks awaiting a rewards cardholder. It's a wonderful way of capitalizing a bit on your average monthly spending. It's also a slippery slope, if you're not careful.

To take full advantage of a rewards card, choose one that caters to your buying taste. A standard rewards card may earn you 1 point for each dollar spent on any purchase at a redeemable rate of one penny per point. In other words, if you spend $1,000, you earn 1,000 points, or $10 in cash back or discounts. Specialty rewards cards will yield more points on certain items, however, and could be a better option if you're looking for one area of savings. Do you love traveling? An airline credit card earns more points for buying plane tickets. Do you drive a lot? Consider a gas card for more points on gasoline purchases. If you love shopping, consider a card with bonus points on your favorite merchandise.

Before choosing any rewards card, however, consider your credit card tendencies: Are you someone who regularly pays the full monthly balance, or do you carry a balance from month to month? In general, you'll have a slightly higher interest rate with a rewards card than you would with a typical credit card, so it's an important distinction. If you have good credit but occasionally carry a balance, consider a low-interest credit card instead. You don't want to lose money by chasing pennies in rewards while you're bleeding dollars in the form of hefty interest payments.

Many people use rewards cards exclusively, both to build up points faster and avoid the possibility of losing a card due to inactivity. Be sure to redeem points regularly as well. There's often an expiration date on when you can apply them on cash back or discounts, and companies can merge or go out of business, potentially taking your rewards with them. Remember that unclaimed rewards points aren't your property -- they're only a theoretical asset until you redeem them.

In comparing rewards card, consider ones with the biggest sign-up bonus and carrying the fewest strings. Watch out for the spend requirements: It has become common for card issuers to impose minimum spending requirements, so that sign-up bonus points are redeemable only after spending a certain amount in a certain time. Can you afford it? If you're considering a card with an annual fee, do the rewards outweigh the fee?

In short, you'll want to look for the card with the most-generous redemption scheme that fits your lifestyle. We all love gifts, but some we like a lot more than others.