Rewards News and Advice

Head’s up to credit card rewards hounds: credit card companies are cracking down on rewards programs in an effort to save money as they grapple with record delinquency and default rates. If you use a credit card for everyday spending in order to earn miles or cash rewards, pay attention to any mail you receive from your credit card company to make sure they don’t change your rewards program on you.

As Americans are tightening their belts, using credit less, and seeking any way to save a few pennies or get out from under debt faster, credit card companies are listening. Banks and financial institutions are starting to roll out credit cards with rewards programs that help you save or pay down debt.

For example, Wells Fargo has a program called the “Wells Fargo Debt Pay Down Solution” in which the rewards on a Wells Fargo credit card can be automatically applied to the balance or other loan balances at the bank.

Fidelity Investments also introduced the Retirement Rewards Card, a credit card that pays rewards of 2% of all purchases and automatically deposits the rebates into a Fidelity IRA.

Although not new, Discover Card also offers a credit card aimed at customers carrying a balance that will help them get out of debt—the Discover Motiva Card features cash back and a unique perk: For every six months on-time payments, Discover will waive one month of finance charges.

Grab a Discover Card, use it for this year’s holiday shopping, and you could get an extra $160 in your pocket. Here’s how:

Get a $25 cash sign-up bonus when you apply for the Costco True Earnings reward credit card from American Express and make your first purchase.

As fuel prices rise, credit cards offering gas rebates, gas rewards, or cash back on gas purchases are looking like a better and better deal. While some credit cards provide specific gas rewards, other rewards cards change their rewards policies from time-to-time. One such card that recently introduced a great gas rebate program is the Discover More Card.

If you have a Citibank credit card that does not offer rewards, such as the Citi Platinum Select or Citi Diamond Preferred cards, upgrading to a rewards card is usually pretty simple. Just call the customer service number on the back of your Citibank credit card and tell the customer service representative you would like to switch cards.