Reward credit cards are gaining in popularity as customers demand more from their finances. They often offer incentives such as AirMiles or loyalty points, as well as a competitive standard offering.
Recent research has concluded that after interest rates, rewards are the second most important factor to consumers when choosing a credit card. With many offering 0% introductory deals on purchases or balance transfers as well as their reward programme, they can offer good value if the rewards fit your needs.
As always, assessing the basic offering of the card is vital to make sure it will be effective for you. Unfortunately rewards are often very difficult to value, and so it is difficult to tell if they represent a better bargain than a cheaper card with no extra incentives. Temptation is also a factor, as spending extra just to clock up those rewards is a bad idea – you may end up falling further into the red than you should as a result!
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