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There are many cash back rebate credit cards out there that pay you 5% back (at least for a while) on your gas purchases. There is a way you can turn that 5% card into a 30 percent card by using a simple strategy.

First step is to get a cash back rebate gas card. There are many that you can find. Some are issued by the gas station companies themselves and others are by the big bands. You can find them easily by searching for gas rebate credit card or cash back gas credit card in Google.

As I mentioned you will find two types, those issued by gas companies like Shell or Exxon and those issued by banks or financial companies like Chase or Discover. Usually you will find that the gas company cards will have higher rebate amounts for longer periods than the cards issued by banks.

When you have your cash back or rebate card then it is time to implement the other part of the strategy. The strategy consists of combining two different rebate offers to create a larger one. To do this we will use a customer loyalty rebate.

A customer loyalty rebate, is a rebate program that pays you for staying a regular customer of the gas company that you designate. For example, if you pick Exxon, then you will be rewarded for doing all your gas shopping at Exxon.

You will have to pick one brand or one gas company so you want to use the same gas company you have a rebate card from if you have a gas company issued card. If you have an Exxon credit card, then you want to use Exxon for the customer loyalty rebate.

The customer loyalty rebate works like this. You register with the rebate company and tell them the gas company you will be using. Then you save your gas purchase receipts each month. When you accumulate $100 in receipts you will send them into the rebate company. Soon you will get back a $25 prepaid Visa Card.

You spend $100 on gas and get back $25 from the rebate company. That is a 25 percent rebate. Now, if you paid for the gas purchases with your rebate gas credit card, you will be getting your 5 percent rebate for that.

You are getting a 25 percent rebate from the customer loyalty rebate program and you are getting a 5 percent rebate from the credit card. That means that you are effectively giving yourself a 30 percent cash back rebate by combining the two programs. That is how you turn a 5 percent rebate program into a 30 percent rebate program.

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If you haven’t taken a moment to scout new credit card offers, the time has arrived. Credit card companies are battling for the largest client base, and as a result, consumers are on the receiving end of very attractive benefits. One of the most popular types of cards on the market today is the cash back reward card. Although the logistics change depending on the financial institution, the result is the same: get cash back on every purchase!

Below are the top four cash back rewards cards; check out the benefits and choose the one that’s right for you. I’ve chosen these particular offers because of the size of the rewards and because of low interest rates.

Chase Cash Plus Rewards Visa Card

This is one of my favorite cards because Chase doesn’t bog down the customer with a laundry list of rules and regulations. With some available cards, you have to follow very specific guidelines in order to receive rewards. With the Cash Plus Rewards Visa, all you have to do is use the card, and you’ll get cash back.

Every time you use the card at a grocery store, gas station or drug store, you receive 5% cash back. When you use it for other purchases, you get 1% cash back. Then, when you build up a balance, you can either request a check from Chase Bank, or you can request a gift certificate for merchants such as Best Buy, Macy’s and Home Depot.

There’s no annual fee for the Cash Plus Rewards Visa card, and new customers receive a 0% introductory APR for up to twelve months on both balance transfers and purchases.

HSBC Cash Back Rewards MasterCard

I recommend this card for anyone who enjoys security protection and fair, competitive rewards. With the HSBC Cash Back MasterCard, you receive 1% cash back on all purchases, with no spending requirements. They offer a 0% introductory APR for the first twelve months. There is no annual fee, and you’ll receive Zero Liability in the event that your card is stolen or used without authorization.

With the Chase card, you received 5% back on some purchases, which is not true of the HSBC card. However, this card comes with unlimited purchase protection, extended warranties, and travel accident insurance.

Citi Dividend Platinum Select Credit Card

This is a card for anyone who wants cash back rewards, but who plans on paying the card off every month. Customers receive 5% cash back on purchases at grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations, and 1% back for all other purchases. Citi offers a 0% APR on balance transfers for the first twelve months, but the regular APR is higher than the other cards being compared here. The cash back rewards are good, but this is not the card on which to carry a balance.

Citi offers the highest in security protection with a Photocard option and a fraud early warning block. They also provide Lost Wallet Protection, which means that if your card is lost or stolen, they will replace it within 24 hours.

Blue Cash from American Express

This is the perfect card for anyone who wants to share the benefits with a family member. Blue Cash offers up to 5% back on all purchases – the most at drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations and home improvement stores – and you receive the same cash back rewards with additional cards. That means that if your spouse, parent or child has a copy of the card, you earn cash back with their purchases as well.

Blue Cash offers a 0% introductory APR for the first six months, with a low regular APR afterwards. There is no annual fee, and no spending requirement to start receiving cash back. You might also want to check out American Express’ Smart Chip service with ID Keeper. This web tool allows you to store personal log-in and password information for the web so that you don’t have to input your information every time you log on.

Cash back reward cards are an excellent way to get your feet wet in the credit card world. Try some of these on for size, and see what they have to offer. If you’re going to be buying things anyway, you might as well reap additional benefits!

Copyright Ed Vegliante. Free online reprints of this article are allowed provided the resource box remains intact with a live link back to http://www.credit-card-surplus.com .

Making money when you spend money. Sounds a little to good to be true – doesn’t it? But you see these commercials advertising this all the time. So what’s the deal? Do these cards really work and are you the only one who is being left out or do they just not exist? Keep reading to find out what and best cash-back credit cards are and if they really do work.

First of all, these cards do exist. What the credit card companies don’t bother to tell you is that these cards are not what you need to be carrying if you don’t pay off your card each month. The cash-back rewards really do exist, but the monthly APR is high. In other words, if you don’t pay off your balance each month, the interest they are going to charge you is going to use up your “cash-back” reward. These cards are good if you pay off your balance regularly. If you don’t pay off your balance each month, it would be better for you to use a card with the lowest APR.

Here are four of the top cash-back credit cards:

American Express

12.49% – 18.49% APR 5% cash back at grocery stores, gas stations, and drugstores (after you’ve spent $6,500 within a year – if you spend less, the rate is 1% and 0.5% 1.5% cash back on all other purchases 0% APR on new purchases for up to 12 months Offers a fixed 2.99% on balances transferred for 12 months 3% transfer fee
Capital One

9.9% – 16.9% APR 2% cash-back on gas and groceries % on all purchases 0% APR for up to 12 months No limits on cash-back rewards Rewards never expire $29 annual fee charged to people with lower credit scores
Chase Visa

9.99% – 18.99% APR 3% for every dollar you spend on gas, groceries, and fast food for the six months 1% for all other purchases $50 credit after first purchase 0% APR for up to 12 months 3% rewards are limited to $600 in purchases per month (after you reach $600, you earn 1%)
Discover

10.99% – 18.99% APR 5% cash back in various categories on up to $400 of quarterly purchases 0.25% on other purchases up to $1,500 in yearly spending 0.5% from $1,500 to $3,000 on new purchases for six months 1% after $3,000 on new purchases for six months 0% balance transfers for up to 12 months 3% transfer fee

Now that you know if a cash-back credit card is right for you and which credit card company offers the best ones, get started finding the exact card. Each of these companies has several cards that fit the above mentioned benefits. Be sure you compare each card they offer so you can get these deals.

Let’s take a look at several cash back reward credit cards.

One of the highest rated by a consumer services firm is an American Express cash back reward credit card. Designed for those with at least good, but preferably excellent credit, the cash back reward on these credit cards is exceptional.

Through this card’s rebate program, the cardholder will earn a varying cash award, depending on how much is spent in the past year. Purchases that are considered every day buys, such as at gas stations, grocery stores and
pharmacies, earn five percent back. Other purchases earn the cardholder one and one half percent rebate. The limit on the cash back reward for this particular credit card is $50,000 each year.

Common benefits of its other credit cards are included in this cash back reward program. These include a buyer’s assurance plan, a plan for purchase protection and travel accident insurance up to $100,000.

These cash back reward credit cards have no annual fee, with a six month zero percent introductory rate, not only for balance transfers but for all purchases with the credit cards as well. As long as the initial loan whose balance is
transferred remains unpaid the interest rate paid on its balance after the introductory period has run out is a low 4.99 percent.

The rate on purchases subsequent to the introductory period on this cash back reward credit card is 12.74 percent at this writing, although it is variable. While you can get a cash advance with this credit card, the rate on that
transaction is a hefty 22.74 percent. The payment grace period is 20 days.

Another of the excellent cash back reward credit cards is a Visa. This offer is for those who have very good credit. With this cash back reward credit card the cardholder earns a point for each dollar used for a purchase. The first purchase
using the card gives the cardholder 1000 bonus points. The accrual of 2500 points with this cash back reward credit card means a $25 gift certificate or check from the cardholders choice of retailer or merchant. With this card you can earn up to 60,000 points for the year.

This card’s zero percent introductory interest rate lasts for one year, on both balance transfers and purchases. The card has no annual fee. One of the things that make this one of the best cash back reward credit cards its additional
benefits such as insurance on auto rentals, its extended purchase warranties, and its travel accident insurance coverage of up to $500,000.

The Chase Platinum Card is now offering a no fee “Flexible Rewards” program. The Chase Flexible rewards program is unique in that it provides consumers with the opportunity to choose their rewards from a variety of categories, including travel, cash back, merchandise, and retail gift certificates. However, with the ability to choose your rewards, also comes the task of figuring out how to get the most value out of the points you earn. Here, we will examine the value of Flexible Rewards points when used for each rewards category and compare this program with more specific rewards programs.

Earning points with the Chase Platinum Card is a straightforward process: consumers receive 1 point for every dollar spent. However, the value of each point earned will vary from reward category to reward category. The following are hypothetical examples of how choosing the right reward is the key to getting the most value out of your flexible rewards:

Redeeming points for merchandise rewards with just about every credit card on the market is usually a tremendous waste of points. For example, a $2000 flat screen t.v. might cost 400,000 points. This is generally not a bargain. The same is true in this case. However, smaller merchandise items, such as CD’s and DVD’s, are good redemption deals, as they often require 1500 to 2000 points, or roughly 1 point for every cent that would be spent on the item. Overall, however, the best value usually comes in the form of gift certificates and cash back rewards.

Retail gift certificates generally cost points that are inline with the gift certificate cost. For example, a $50 giftcard would require 5,000 points. With giftcards available from a wide range of major retailers ranging from the Gap to Home Depot, using flexible rewards points to obtain gift certificates can provide solid overall value.

Cash back rewards work very similar to giftcard rewards. A set amount of points, such as 1000, can be redeemed for a cash back reward of $10. Since cash back puts money in your pocket, cash back rewards, like giftcard rewards, are a means to get the most value out of your points.

The final Chase Flexible Reward category is travel. As with most travel rewards programs, the best way to utilize this type of reward is to redeem it towards free airline miles, as opposed to trip packages, which are the equivalent of using your points to buy that flat screen t.v. When you redeem points for miles, which then discount your airfare, you essentially maintain the point value of 1% of every dollar spent.

The Chase Platinum Card with Flexible Rewards offers consumers what it advertises: flexibility in using rewards points. However, credit card “rewards junkies,” i.e., those who use their credit cards for every purchase to obtain the most value for their spending, will likely benefit more from a traditional rewards program. For example, frequent flyers can definitely reap greater rewards with a traditional miles credit card like the Citi PremierPass or American Express’s Blue Sky which offer free miles and bonus mile opportunities.

Those who prefer cash back rewards might be happier with a traditional cash back credit card. Although interest rates have risen on cash back credit cards that offer 5% cashback on everyday purchases, those who use a card like the Citi Dividend Platinum Select or the American Express Blue Cash and pay their bill in full each month can literally “cash in” a great deal more than they otherwise could with 1% in flexible rewards.

Overall, the Chase Platinum credit card with Flexible rewards provides its best value to consumers by offering a 0% interest rate on purchases and balance transfers for up to 1 year, and a lower APR than most rewards credit cards. However, for credit card “rewards junkies,” more traditional category specific rewards cards will reap them the most rewards.

Cash reward credit cards are generally alluring to numerous individuals. The idea that it is possible to get a percentage of your cash back for all those acquisitions you are making by just utilizing your bank card sounds like a good deal, but only as long as you have got the ability to cover those products and services each month instead of carrying the charges from one billing cycle to the next and paying interest fees on your bank card.

Cash rebate bank cards generally give you money back on purchases made using their cards. Unfortunately, most of these credit cards charge high interest rates which means that if you have to carry a balance over from month to month you may be shelling out more in interest when compared to what you are getting in cash rebates. Unless you have the means to pay your bills off each and every month it is far better to select a low interest rate credit card in lieu of one which gives cash rebates.

Several cash reward credit cards just give money back after you have charged a specific amount which means if you do not routinely make use of the charge card you might not get to a predefined level to, in fact, get any cash rebates.

You should read through the agreement and pay attention to just how your cash back is going to wind up being paid out. Several issuers only apply the cash rebates credit on the existing balance lowering the total amount you owe on that particular account statement. A few other cash reward programs send you a check or return the cash into your personal account. This in most cases doesn’t happen on a monthly basis but rather yearly or every 3 months.

Still others only actually give you your cash back bonus if you call in and ask for it. Hence you should learn how you will receive your cash rebates in advance of settling on which credit card offers you will choose.

The dollar amount of cash back on various cards definitely will fluctuate. Certain charge cards gives you up to five percent back on things like household goods, fuel as well as hotel stays and 1% regarding other products. Whereas this may be a great deal, you might want to stay with primarily utilizing the bank card to shop for those goods that will give you the greatest amount of cash back and paying the total amount off in full every month.

Take into account that cash reward credit cards are usually only a beneficial option when you can pay off your regular monthly balance in time. If not the high APRs on many of these credit cards will certainly cost more than any revenue you get back and you may find yourself actually paying more in the long term.