Part 1: How Do Retail Reward Credit Cards Work?
Fancy earning as you shop? Big retailers and utility companies are willing to put in some serious work in order to keep your business and that could end up being seriously rewarding.
Retail reward credit cards have a number of points schemes available to help you get something back when you flash the cash. There are also ways to help you spread the cost of your spending such as introductory 0% purchase credit card offers.
By collecting rewards on what you're spending already it's also easier to avoid the temptation that's a drawback of cash back credit cards: overspending in order to get more rewards.
Current retail reward credit card best buys
Use our retail reward credit cards comparison table to see more deals.
How retail reward credit cards vary
Just because each retail reward credit card offers you points for your spending, doesn't mean you'll be getting the same number of reward points per pound you spend, or that you'll need the same number of points to get your hands on your first free gift.
So when you compare retail reward credit cards its important to not only look at the number of points you'll earn, but also how much those points are worth in terms of a redemption value.
You can use our reward calculator to find out how many points you'll get for your spending level - and also how much those points are going to be worth.
How to earn retail rewards
Credit card spending. The main way to earn retail rewards is to arm your wallet with a retail reward credit card and then remember to use it for buying stuff as much as possible.
The more you spend on a retail reward credit card the more loyalty points you will earn.
Remember with most retail reward credit cards you are not just limited to a select shop or number of shops where you can earn points - points will usually be awarded on all credit card spending - even when you spend with a rival company!
Bonus points. Some retail reward credit cards offer bonus points when you first open the account or when you first use the credit card to pay for a purchase.
Bonus points can be a great way to kick start your point earnings, and are often enough to claim your first free reward too!
Loyalty spending incentives. Retail reward credit cards that are partnered with one particular retailer or that are part of a particular loyalty scheme will often award you with extra points when you spend money with them and their partners.
For example, the Sainsbury's Nectar credit card will double your Nectar points when you spend at Sainsbury's.
The currently available retail reward credit cards
Watch out for...
As with all reward credit cards, you'll need to keep a sharp eye on your special offers to make sure that a retail reward credit card stays rewarding.
You'll need to watch out for continuing to use a retail reward credit card after a special offer has expired or 'overloading' a credit card by trying to take advantage of too many rewards at once. There's more on how to avoid this pitfall in the 'How to Use a Retail Reward Credit Card' section.
For more on the offers available and whether they'd suit your spending see our 'How to Compare Retail Reward credit cards' section.
Retail reward credit cards
This best buy guide is updated monthly, which means if any facts, rates or fees change during the course of a month this guide will not reflect those changes until the next scheduled update.
While we will make every effort to ensure and maintain current and accurate information in this guide, readers are always advised to check rates and fees with the credit card provider before signing up.
Date of last check: 3rd March 2010 |
|
Part 2: