Making the Most of Credit Card Cashback and Rewards Deals

  Credit card cashback deals are usually divided between actual cash (payable by check or credit) and rewards (oftentimes, denominated in gift cards or even eCertificates - redeemable for merchandise.) Many favor the flexible parameters of the actual cash, money back in the United Kingdom. Cash allows you to choose where you spend your money.

Many rewards program items have inflated price tags. Gift cards usually require another expenditure, since most gift cards only offer a percentage off your purchase price. Some cards offer conversion between cash and gift cards.

Cashback credit cards have grown in popularity. One of the reasons is the so-called transaction fee. Whenever a credit card is used, the merchant must pay the credit card company a transaction fee for the credit card service. Since credit card companies make more money with each purchase, they have encouraged usage of their cards by splitting the fee with their consumers through these programs.

Most cashback credit cards have rates between 0.5% and 5%. There are many specials, promotions and bonuses offered for purchases at specific online merchants, favorite shopping venues, grocery stores - the list seems endless. Some target when you buy - weekend purchases.

Credit cash back can go towards many goals. It can pay down your credit card debt, mortgage or even be added to your IRA account.

The high price of gas has led to gas rebate credit cards, with rewards calculated monthly.

Rewards programs usually have higher Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) or 'Prime +' Rates.

If you can; avoid credit cards with point expiration, earning caps, spending requirements, short grace periods, or default rates. Be sure you know which purchases count towards the total.

Most, if not all of the most clever ways of maximizing these deals require financial discipline and paying off your balance, so the penalty doesn't wipe out any accumulated cash or rewards. One easy benefit is to use your card where you shop already. You can oftentimes multiply your gains with discounts and coupons at these stores.

Linking your credit card to your savings or checking account (especially when it receives direct deposit,) can optimize your returns; if you channel your basic expenses through the card, then pay off the balance before the end of the month.

Caveat Emptor: you don't really gain new money in cash back deals - you really only receive a discount. So far, this discount has never been considered taxable. Be smart, careful and disciplined if you want to make the most out of credit card cashback deals.

Casinos strongly urge new gamblers to join the slot club, and they always try to make it very simple. With just a valid ID and a couple of minutes of your time, you get a shiny laminated slots card with your name and serial number on it (and typically a handy small key chain to fasten the slot card to your body.) Also, ask if they have any sign-up comps. Many casinos give special deals to bring in new players.

When you use the slot machines, simply insert your slots card into the card reader; the computer digitally tracks your playing duration and the amount of your bet.

If you ever misplace your card, which is really easy to do, just head back to the place where you first registered and ask for replacement. Or you can ask for additional card to begin with, particularly if your spouse also wishes to play under your club account or you want to play two slot machines at once.

What is even better than complimentary meals? Free cash! Many present-day casinos offer cash back plans (up to one percent) other than their generous comps. Certainly, casinos can afford to be kind because slots are very profitable for the casino.

Casinos usually figure your potential cashback rewards and comps on a point system. The more slots points you accrue (based on how many hours you play or the machine denomination), the bigger your perks. Also, just like those grocery store coupons, you may get double or triple slots points on certain dates, putting you at the fast track for cashing in your money. Points are generally nontransferable and frequently have an expiration date.

A cashback typically comes in a couple of flavors:

You get the cashback at the same day you get it.

You are mailed a cashback certificate, which is good for your next visit to the casino. The program is known as a bounce-back. This program typically requires you to get back within a time period. Of course, if your favorite casino is just within a short drive, it isn't a big problem. But if you must fly across the continent to cash it in, the certificate becomes much less worthwhile.

On-line CashBack malls are appearing everywhere you turn. Bing, Bank of America's Add-It-Up, and Best Buy's "Reward Zone" are just a few of the newest entries in a well-populated landscape.

So why all of a sudden the big push for CashBack shopping? The fact is that times have never been tougher in any of our lives and getting the highest and best use of every dollar that comes into our possession has never been more important. This fact has not been lost on the Madison Avenue crowd that has been helping giant retailers like Microsoft, BOA and Best Buy see the need to get this compelling service into the hands of their customers. You might say it is the ultimate Customer Loyalty play of all time.

But as a consumer, which CashBack mall is the best? Obviously there are a lot to choose from. Each mall offers differing amounts of CashBack from the same merchants. And unfortunately, some are playing games like spiking up the CashBack on a few recognized merchants and offering less on others, making it difficult to compare.

The answer to which is best may just have come in the form of the next generation of CashBack Malls which have started to appear over the last few months. These 2nd generation malls completely changes the focus of the question "Who offers the most CashBack?" to something bigger.

The reality is that CashBack is very cool and it can mount up, but it is still only a small percentage off the purchase price, often much less than your sales tax. However, these second generation CashBack malls have developed a better ways to pay out the CashBack dollars available so they really amount to something that can make a real difference.

Obviously, people love the idea of getting CashBack every time they shop; that is what the CashBack malls are all about. But the 2nd generation malls take this to the next level. Instead of a basic CashBack mall like the BOA's Add-It-Up or Best Buy's Reward Zone, the 2nd gen mall is actually a personal portal that includes your very own CashBack mall. Some even allow you to customize your personal mall to contain your favorite stores on your main shopping page, etc.

Beside this, the expanded personal portal concept proves to be very useful because they provide you with many things you use one the Internet all under one roof. For example, the more advanced models are designed to place everything you normally do on the Internet at your fingertips want every time you launch your favorite Internet browser; starting with your own, very robust customized home page. Think about having Twitter, Facebook, your favorite news, stocks, movies or anything else you want in the exact way you want it every time you launch your browser.

Now add in a CashBack Rewards Mall with several hundred store on some to over 1,000 of the nation's most recognized stores on others, all offering CashBack on everything you buy. Some even also offering up to 1,000 special offers and Coupon Discount Codes every day. While your at it, why not include your own on-line competition game room that logs into the larger gaming communities, or your own social community with whom to share your favorite shopping deals.

While all of these new functionalities add terrific value over traditional malls, what makes the 2nd gen mall really unique is how it deals with the question of CashBack. A normal CashBack mall uses all of the money it wishes to allocate as an incentive to be paid out to you as CashBack; but as mentioned, that just never amounts to very much anyway. So what some of the 2nd gen malls do is pay you only a portion of the CashBack available, and then pay the remaining amount into a unique genealogy pool which is then shared with people that were responsible for inviting you to join the mall community.

For clarification, think of Facebook, where you invited your friends to join your community, who then invited their friends Cashback Offers & Coupons, who invited their friends, and so on. Facebook doesn't have any way to compensate people who invited new people to join Facebook, but the new 2nd gen malls do, and what a difference this makes. Instead of just getting CashBack on what you purchase, you also get a portion of the CashBack on the purchases of the people you invited, and their friends, and theirs. Some pay out for many generational levels below you. That means that you could be receiving a portion of thousands of people's CashBack instead of all of just yours. The numbers can become extraordinarily substantial and the natural evolution of people sharing with other people continues as it does in any social network like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

What the 2nd generation mall have just done is change the game, because now it really isn't about who offers you the highest percentage in CashBack that matters, it is who can provide you with the most money every month; month after month. Game over!