If there are limits to the rewards you can earn,.How each card earns rewards (for instance 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases),.How quickly you must earn the sign up bonus,.How much you need to spend to earn the sign up bonus,.Just like you need to keep track of when you credit card statements arrive and when your credit card payments are due, you’ll need to keep track of many other things when you’re focused on earning credit card rewards and sign up bonuses.įor every card, you’ll need to keep track of the following: Rule 5 – Have A System For Keeping Track Of Everything If you’re like my wife and I and keep a strict limit on your spending regardless of whether you’re spending using cash or a credit card, then keep on reading the rest of the rules. If you’re a person that would spend more using a credit card than they would with cash, the credit card rewards and sign up bonus game isn’t going to be in your best interest.Ĭhances are you’ll spend more than the amount of rewards you’ll earn. While the idea that people spend more using credit than cash may be true in more cases than not, it isn’t true for every single person and may not be true for you, either. It doesn’t matter whether I use cash or a credit card. Personally, spending any money is a big deal to me. Somehow, paying with cash hurts more and seems more tangible to most people. It’s been proven that people spend more on credit than they do with cash.įor some reason, people are willing to spend more when they swipe a credit card than when they have to part with physical cash when making a purchase. Rule 4 – Never Spend More Than You Would Otherwise When you start playing the credit card rewards and sign up bonus game, it’s easy to get overwhelmed as you accumulate credit cards.įor that reason, it’s super important you put a system into place that allows you to keep track of when you should be getting your credit card statements each month and when your credit card payment is due each month.Ĭheck out my post on how to make sure you never make a late payment again to see how my system works. Making late payments is a good way to pay late fees, interest and even become subject to penalty APRs in some cases. Rule 3 – Always Make Your Payments On TimeĪnother key to making sure you don’t pay interest or fees is making your payments on time each and every month. If you ever catch yourself not paying your balance off in full, stop trying to earn rewards and sign up bonuses immediately and address the problems that led to carrying a balance. If you can’t commit to paying your balance off in full every month no matter what, the credit card rewards and sign up bonus game may not be for you. You may think it’s acceptable to not pay your balance off in full every once in a while, but that leads to a dangerous mindset that can quickly lead to increasing credit card balances and uncontrollable credit card debt. Paying your statement balance off in full each month is key to making sure you don’t pay the credit card company interest. Once you know you can keep your spending under control, you must commit to always paying off your credit card balances in full each and every statement cycle. Rule 2 – Always Pay Your Balance Off In Full You’re better off not paying interest and staying out of debt than you would be earning a few hundred dollars in credit card rewards. Interest rates on rewards credit cards are often higher than on no-frills, low-interest rate credit cards that people who carry balances on their cards should use.Įven if you currently have no credit card debt, if you know you’ll be tempted to spend more than you should or could easily end up carrying a balance, you shouldn’t attempt to play the credit card rewards and sign up bonus game. In fact, I would say you shouldn’t have any credit card debt at all before attempting to earn rewards. To get started, you must not have problems getting into credit card debt or other types of consumer credit debt. Rule 1 – You Shouldn’t Play The Game If You Have Problems Falling Into Credit Card Or Consumer DebtĮarning credit card rewards and sign up bonuses can get addicting. Here’s what you must do at a minimum to make sure the credit card rewards and sign up bonuses you earn won’t end up costing you money. Personally, I’d say if you can’t follow the rules of the game listed below you shouldn’t play the game at all. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the importance of playing by the rules of the credit card rewards game. In fact, we love it so much we share exactly how we do this with everyone that wants to learn. My wife and I love earning credit card rewards and sign up bonuses to fund our vacations.
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