Aug 12, 2004 -- Reward credit cards are getting big
Do you have a credit card that gives you bonuses? There are some amazing things coming in the credit card business over the next 24 months for people who pay their credit cards in full. People are applying for cash reward cards because they offer such good deals. And now more people will be able to acquire American Express cards more easily. To give some background, banks havent had a choice about which credit card they can offer you. Its been either Visa or MasterCard. But now, because of an anti-trust case headed for the Supreme Court, Amex is about to break the Visa/MasterCard monopoly. So, if you pay your bills in full every month, you will hit the sweet spot with credit card offers. Visa is in such fear of Amex that the company is promoting a premium program known as the Signature Program that competes with some of Amexs premiere programs. So, over the next year, open up the credit card offers coming in the mail. They could be worth it. Clark prefers the cash reward cards, which offer you between 1 and 1.5 percent cash back on your purchases. If you are able to redeem airline rewards often, you are better off with airline cards. But you have to be flexible because airlines have so many rules with those deals. With cash, there are no rules. If youre not getting anything in return and you pay your bills in full, you are losing out. You could be making easy money.