Six Strategies to help you earn more miles and points

For most people, earning reward points on their new credit card is the most important thing. Maximizing the rewards actually means a lot to such people. Well, if you get to know about certain strategies and tips about earning more miles and points, won’t it be awesome? Let us talk more about maximizing your rewards on the credit card that you use.

best-credit-card-rewardsTo avail signup bonuses you must hit the required spending

A signup bonus is nothing but a set of additional points, cash or miles which you receive only after spending a particular amount using your credit card within a specific time frame. Every credit card does not have sign up bonuses. However, the competitive rewards credit card offered by different banks do have sign up bonuses associated with them. It is an obvious fact that if you do not spend a particular amount you will not be receiving the sign up bonus. In such a case, it does not even matter how big or beneficial the sign up bonus actually is.

It is definitely a good idea to apply for a credit card that has sign up bonuses associated with it. The minimum that is required to avail the bonus should not be a very difficult number for you. You must ensure that you do not go into a debt in order to meet the minimum spend for the sign up bonus. Let us say, if you must spend SGD 3000 in 3 months for availing the sign up bonus, but all you can charge your credit card with is an amount of SGD 500 every month, then the bonus will be negated partially by the finance charges. You must avoid carrying any debt on your credit card, until and unless the circumstance is absolutely unavoidable. The best idea is to go for a credit card with a minimum spend that suits you and your budget.

In case your card offers any additional bonus then add an authorized user

Some of the credit cards offered by the banks do offer sign up bonuses if you add an authorized user within a particular time frame. However, the authorized user that you add must make purchases during that stipulated time frame. In case your new credit card offers this, then adding a user can be a great plan to earn those extra points that you are looking for. Go ahead and add a college aged child or a partner and enhance the benefits for yourself!

But before you can do any of this, it is of great importance that you actually understand what an authorized user truly is. This person who you add to the credit card will be able to use the credit as well as the benefits, but is not legally liable to make any payments for the credit card. If you feel like removing an authorised user from your credit card you may do that anytime. However, talk to you card issuer once about any effect on your bonus, before you remove the user.

When you are shopping online, use bonus mall

Bonus mall is basically a shopping portal which lets you avail great rewards and discounts on all the purchases that you make online. In order to use it, you have to go to the bonus mall of the issuer and select the particular retailer of your choice before you buy anything from there. After this, make the payments using your credit card to reap those additional rewards.

If applicable, opt into the category for bonus rewards

In case the credit card that you use has reward categories, all you have to do is opt in quarterly in order to avail the advantages. Otherwise, you will keep receiving the standard rewards that are typically lower.

Make use of your credit card for all the things that do not require a fee

In order to earn rewards, several expenditures can be added on the credit card that you use and then paid off before the last date of the repayment. Add things like groceries, gas, entertainment spending, travel expenses, utilities and subscriptions on the credit card that you use. But ensure that you pay these off every month.

Other expenditures like quarterly tax payments or rent, may trigger a particular fee if you pay them using your credit card. Avoid that extra fee by paying these with a bank draft or cheque. This is a significant saving and is definitely more than any reward that you can win.

Couple up the credit cards

Some of the credit cards work better together when you are thinking of maximizing the reward points. For example, if you have two credit cards, Chase Sapphire Preferred Cards and Chase Freedom, you can actually use the combination of the two cards to enjoy the maximum benefits. Enjoy five percent bonus categories and also the Chase Ultimate Rewards website in order to redeem rewards that maximizes your points. Use the Chase Freedom for all the purchases that are with 5 percent rewards. And then you can transfer the points to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card that you have in order to redeem the points on travel when you use the website of Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Conclusion – Credit cards can be prove to be extremely beneficial to use when you know how to use one in the right way. Making the late payments or skipping payments if not advisable if you wish to maintain a good credit score. You can also apply for a personal loan using your credit card. However, the personal loan will depend on the credit limit that you currently have and the repayment history. Some of the banks providing a myriad of credit cards in Singapore are OCBC bank, DBS Bank, UOB Bank, Bank of China, Citibank, Standard Chartered, ICICI, POSB, etc. The credit cards are designed in a way to offer innovative and customisable solutions to you. The different credit cards are unique and meant for different spending habits. Choose the credit card that completely suits your purposes. Maintain a healthy usage and keep a score which will only increase your creditworthiness. Before you choose a credit card for yourself, make sure that you indulge yourself in both quantitative and qualitative research and then select the one that you need.

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