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Points Credit Cards
The most popular type of rewards program other than cashback, points credit cards allow you to earn points for each dollar spent on purchases with redemption options ranging from gift cards, merchandise, travel, or just about any tangible product you can think of. The flexibility of this type of structure is what attracts most consumers to this type of credit card. If you are not the type of person who feels satidified with cashback or statement credits, then credit card points may be a good fit. You may also be able to turn your points into cash if you change your mind at some point as certain programs like Membership Rewards from American Express gives you the ability to redeem earnings for American Express gift cards which may be used like cash wherever their brand is accepted.
Best Points Credit Card Rewards Programs
A few years ago, it would be easy to identify the best points credit card rewards program. At that point, American Express was in a class all by itself. As times have changed and the popularity of these types of products has increased, competing issuers have really doctored up their own infratructures and have developed partnerships to provide a platform for sophisticated reward programs. Additionally, some issuers with these platforms cater to people with a range of credit types, as opposed to American Express which has very rigid approval requirements and is thus reserved strictly for those with excellent or close to excellent credit.
When looking for a points credit card, the important things to look at are the way the earning structure works. Standard procedure is that $1 is the equivalent of one point. In some cases, there are bonus points given upon opening an account. Any card you select should give you the ability to manage your points online. This shouldn't be an issue as almost every major issuer has this option and will typically include it in their ad or marketing copy.
The one thing to be aware of is that there are certain offers that will periodically allow you to earn multiple points on purchases for a limited time. These promotions come via their partnerships with specific merchants and last anywhere between one to six months. Note that these types of scenarios sometimes are exclusively provided to consumers with an issuer's platinum or higher tier credit cards. A common example with this is with American Express charge cards. As you move up the ranks, meaning, if you start out with the general card and then move up to gold followed by platinum, you will notice how the benefits with point accrual change. You will also be privvy to deep discounts on other higher-end items as time goes on.
The best points credit card in our opinion is the one that gives you the most options. The reason why people look for points rather than miles, cashback, etc. is that they don't want to be restrcited to one specific type of earnings. The variety is what is appealing. Because of this, we think that the best option is that card offering even more variety within the variety. This typically occurs from the larger financial institutions that have more extensive reach and stronger relationships with merchants. Not to make this sound like an American Express commercial, but in all likelihood, the reason why American Express has done so well and excelled in this arena for so long is that they deal directly with retailers and other vendors because they provide merchant services. Thus, the longstanding relationships are already in place and they may use their processing and authorization power to help get exclusive deals for clients using their credit cards. It makes sense when you think about it as it plays both sides of the coin. That's one advantage of both issuing and processing plastic. One hand feeds the other.
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