Do You Use Cash Rebate or Travel Points Credit Cards?

In the February issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine they asked their readers how they used their rewards credit cards. The results:

• 62% use cash back cards
• 38% use travel rewards cards

Of those who use cash back cards, here's how they use them:

• 10% on gas
• 4% on groceries
• 86% on other

Some thoughts from me:

• I am with the crowd and prefer cash back cards to travel cards. Why? Because I want the money -- and can then decide if I use it on travel or something else. With points, you're often locked in on using it on specific rewards the card company offers.
• I've earned over $12,000 the past ten years by using cash back credit cards. Not bad.
• To get the most cash back, you need the right mix of cards. I could make more but then I'd need more cards than the five I use now (two of which don't have to be carried).
• So far this year I've earned almost $1,000 in rewards. That's what happens when you pay a college tuition bill with a 2% cash back credit card. :)

What type of cards do you use?

Comments

[Adebayo Samuel]

Cash back is better for me. I can decide to use the cash on anything I like. For travel points, one may be forced to travel when not necessary in an attempt to ensure that the points don't get expired.

[MikeC]

I too use cash back cards to pay for just about everything.

Question - you say you paid a college tuition bill with a 2% cash back card. When my kids were in college if you wanted to pay by a credit card there was an additional fee (3% if I recall) added to the bill. Was there no additional fee to pay by credit card?

[FMF]

No additional fee added for credit card payment.

I don't know if this is because the school has a large online community so they are used to taking cards or what, but we asked and there was 1) no discount to pay in cash and 2) no fee for using a card.

So we paid with a card...

[First Step]

We have mostly cash back cards and one travel card that I changed a few years ago to have a card with no foreign transaction fees. We were able to pay for all but one semester of my older daughter's college tuition with a credit card, but they just started charging a fee. We also used to pay our annual auto insurance premium with a credit card, but that stopped in 2016. We still do well charging our regular monthly expenses. Also, my husband has to use a personal card for business expenses, and we usually charge around $2000/month on it. We're using our cash back money to help fund a trip to Scotland this year.

[Mrs. Picky Pincher]

Yes! We also opt for cashback cards. We're spending the money anyway, so why not be rewarded for it? We have a 2.5% rewards card. We rack up rewards all year and then use them to pay for Christmas gifts. Hellooooo, zero budget impact holidays. :)

[Shivika]

I agree, I love cash back. I have the Amazon Prime Card with cash back so I get to either accumulate cash back to use on a single purchase or split it up as I wish.

[M Perez]

My daughters college also charged a fee for credit cards. This year I get to save $100 each semester for paying my daughters rent in her sorority in full each semester instead of monthly payments.