Using Your Credit Card to Save Money

Nearly all establishments and places of business accept credit cards as a form of payment. You’ll often see credit card logos with the words, “Credit cards accepted here” posted on the glass windows or doors of malls and store outlets. Majority of shoppers today hardly carry any cash with them when they’re shopping, opting to use their credit cards for making purchases.

Credit cards can be a bane to those who don’t use them wisely. A lot of people end up misusing their credit cards. Often, they see their credit card as plastic money, and they often don’t consider if they have the money to pay off their credit card debts before they hand out their credit card to the cashier. It can’t be argued, though, that for those who do know how to use a credit card wisely that it’s a very convenient tool, and they are even able to use their credit card to save money.

So how exactly can your credit card help you save money?

* Save money on interest rates by taking advantage of 0% balance transfer offers from other credit card companies. If you just don’t have the means to pay off all your credit card debts right now, you can save yourself from having to pay interest on your balances by transferring your balance to another credit card company that offers 0% interest when you open a credit card account with them and transfer the balance from your high-interest credit cards to the new one. Typically, you won’t have to pay any interest on your transferred balance for 12 months or billing cycles. You can then work towards paying off this balance without interest.

* If you have several credit cards, look at the interest rate for each credit card. You can lower your interest rate by calling your credit card company and asking if they can lower your interest rate or if they can match the interest rate of your other credit cards. If you receive offers of low-interest rates from credit card companies, use these as leverage to see if your current credit card companies are willing to match the offers.

* If you often receive credit card offers in the mail, don’t apply without checking out the offers thoroughly. For instance, a 0% interest on purchases for 12 months may sound like a good deal, but it isn’t really if they have annual fees, the interest rate after 12 months is more than 24% and if there are hefty fees for cash advances and late payments.

* Take advantage of your credit card’s rewards program or cash back. Nowadays, you can get 1% to 3% back if you use your credit card for dining out, travelling, purchasing business supplies and even grocery shopping. There are even credit cards that give cash rebates when you use them at gas stations. You can have these cash rebates applied to your bill later on.

You can use your credit card wisely. Of course, make sure that whenever you use your credit cards that you are able to pay more than the minimum each month if you can’t pay off the entire balance. In addition, try to stay away from using your credit card’s cash advance features because the fees are terribly high.