7 Ways to Use the Rewards Credit Cards Effectively

Want to know the seven tips for using Rewards Credit Cards?

Here you get answers to all your questions. Learn the seven helpful tips for using the Rewards Credit cards which helps consumers to analyze how effectively they can use the credit cards.

Features of Rewards credit card that makes consumers to be smart about:

1. The time to make your monthly payment is on the short side, a 20 day "grace period" -- we feel that 25 days would have been much more gracious. To avoid a late fee of up to $39, pay your credit card bill promptly.

2. Two household members can apply for two accounts separately. This lets a two-car family get rebate for the mileage on both cars. Some people wait a year before getting the second card, in order to get another 6% rebate period.

3. Each Driver's Edge card account has a $1,000 rebate cap for any 12 month period. If you find yourself earning more rebates, consider getting another rebate card.

4. Citi reserves the right to terminate your card or change the terms of the card agreement, but they must give you 30 days notice so you'll at least have the chance to convert your rebate points into gift cards. Citi is fairer than most credit card companies, recently announcing that none if it's cards would have a "universal default" clause that penalizes you for being late on any of your payments.

5. Remember that you won't receive a rebate for anything you buy at a warehouse club or department store, even if you buy food there. You'll receive a full rebate at a supermarket, which the Citi card company defines as a "stand-alone merchant that primarily sells a complete line of food merchandise for home consumption". Note that you'll receive a rebate for anything you buy at a drugstore or supermarket, even if it's not drugs or food that you're buying there.

6. If you transfer a balance from another card to your Driver's Edge card, you'll pay zero interest for 12 months. However, as you purchase more items, you'll find that all your monthly payments are going towards the balance transfer. You won't start paying down your purchases until you've paid off your transferred balance. The interest you'll pay on those purchases is a variable rate that usually hovers between 12% and 15%. So if you want a zero percent interest rate, you're really better off getting some other zero-percent card that you'll use only for a balance transfer, not purchases.

7. Avoid these pitfalls: (1) you must use your rebate points within five years or they'll expire; (2) if there's no transaction on your card for 12 months, your points expire; and (3) your "drive rebate" (your rebate for the miles you've driven) must not exceed your rebate for the purchases you made with your Driver's Edge card. For example if your drive rebate is $100 and you have $50 worth of rebate points from purchases, your drive rebate is lowered to $50.