Special Interest Credit Cards

There are a variety of ways to mitigate your “losses” from using traditional credit cards. When I say losses, I mean the interest you invariably will pay for the right to charge things that you don’t actually pay for up front or in full.

As far as actually “mitigating” your losses, what I really mean is getting benefit, in some form of compensation, for paying that higher than average interest every month. By higher than average, I mean that you are paying that interest on a revolving basis, which means that any balance that carries forward month to month will also be charged interest, not just the initial, or principle balance. Hopefully there are some months you can pay the balance, but we all know that is not always possible.

Perks like money towards flights with the all time popular airline miles credit cards, or even points toward Disney products as offered by some Disney sponsored cards are options. There are also credit cards for gas that will help you build up “points” toward free gasoline, which is quite the hot commodity these days when gas prices seem to be as unstable and unpredictable as the economy.

If you sign up for a rewards credit card, just watch the types of annual fees you are signing up for, as some may be a bit excessive when considering what you’re getting in return. I’d say the higher fees are really only justified by cards that offer airline miles points with purchases, since airline miles are a significant monetary benefit that can really accumulate to your benefit. Free travel is always good!