Asking which is the best rewards system is a lot like asking which is the best credit card. The answer is – it depends and mostly on you. It depends on how you use your credit card but also on the type of rewards you are likely to want to redeem. There are a number of different reward systems available and each suit s a different set of consumers with different needs.
In the first instance it is important to establish that a rewards credit card is in fact the right type of card for you. This is a relatively simple task in that rewards credit cards are best suited to consumers who both use their credit cards frequently and repay te balance in full each month. The reasons these are general prerequisites for rewards cards is that generally rewards credit card have interest rates on the high end of the scale and do not suit consumers who carry a balance from month to month. The interest charged would negate any rewards earned. Rewards in almost every case (except the ANZ Balance Visa – see below) are earned against the spending on the card and not the balance that is carried. Rewards cards also suit frequent users as most rewards systems allow the consumer to acquire a number of points per dollar spent on the card therefore the more purchases the card is used for the more points will accrue.
An example of this type of credit card user is a credit card holder who pays off their employment expenses using a credit card but then gets the employer to pay back their expenditure in the next month.
Personalised rewards are a different type of rewards program. These rewards system allow the points to be used for just about any leisure based rewards system. If there are not a sufficient amount of points then the extra spending can be paid directly by the credit card holder. There are store specific credit cards which can be very useful for a credit card holder who would be using the store any way. This is also the case for airline rewards programs. These tend to be more generous if less flexible than more general schemes.
The best credit card rewards system for you inevitably is a rewards system you can both redeem and use. Recent studies in the UK have shown that while more and more consumers are looking to be rewarded for using their credit cards by applying for rewards credit cards, few actually ever redeem their points for rewards.
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