Deciding what kind of a credit card you want can be quite confusing at first, especially when you first find out there are multiple types of this item issued by different banks. What is even worse is that some banks will not give you the offer of all the types which means you will have to go through multiple financial institutions to find the type of plastic (credit card) you are looking for.
So, whether you need one to finally start your credit history or if you want one so you can easily track your income and your expenses. Sometimes people want to get one because banks offer a lot of points as a reward when you get cash from an ATM or you pay with it. Other times people like to switch from one bank to another because the interest rates are lower on the other one, but that also means that you will have to replace your card with a new one.
The truth is, there are multiple benefits and reasons why you should get a credit card, but to understand what type will fulfill all of your needs and requirements you will need help. This is why we have created this short guide to help you choose the right one.
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Travel rewards
Of all the different types you can find available, this has to be the most common one. Although, this type is also split into three different kinds, so let’s get into detail about all of those three.
Hotel or Airline
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A lot of hotels or airlines will offer you the option to get a credit card that will prove your loyalty toward their brand. While using their plastic you will continuously earn points as a reward that you will be able to use in the future for various things such as gas or even groceries. Depending on the company yo pick you might also get other benefits such as priority when boarding on the plane or maybe even free bag check which could save you couple dozen dollars. We recommend that you pick this kind of a card if you are the type of person that constantly flies.
If you gather enough points, some hotels might even offer you a night in one of their better rooms for free. Don’t worry, you can even take your partner or family in the room, they give the free room either way.
Flexible traveling
Unlike some hotels and airlines who offer you a credit card which points can only be spent exclusively with their own brand, some will offer much more flexible travel rewards. For example, the American Express Membership Rewards program offers bonuses and rewards with a lot more brands than just a select few while they also come with a few benefits such as point boosts during holidays and discounts up to twenty percent.
If you are having trouble picking the right plastic, check out Creditcard.co.in for in-depth reviews.
Premium Travel
These premium travel can come with a lot of benefits that you wouldn’t see them offered in other types that do not charge such high fees. Premium ones can have a yearly fee of more than five hundred dollars, but we believe that if you have the extra cash that all the rewards you get are definitely worth it.
You can get things such as free lounge membership combined with free drinks or food, cheaper airplane class upgrades and a lot more.
There is one catch though or two to be exact. You will need to have your credit score above 750 if you expect to get premium plastic and you must have at least one other card that is not in the negative.
Cash Rewards
So, we went through all the other types that offer you various benefits now it’s the time to talk about the ones that offer you cash prizes. Well, it is not exactly getting real money, but you can use the points you accumulated to redeem various gift cards for Amazon, Carrefour, Jysk, iTunes and many others.
Others will give you the offer of a direct cashback of a certain percentage. This percentage might vary from one to even four or five percent cashback.
Business
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As you probably already know, the business type will help you benefit from all of your business purchases. Some of these business types will reward you with points after you have purchased advertising. So, if you are the type of businessman that constantly has work advertising on places such as Facebook or Instagram, this is definitely your type of plastic.
Other business plastics will let you maximize purchases while traveling when refilling gas at a gas station when resupplying at office stores and so on.
Naturally, businessmen want to keep their credit score as high as possible which means that this plastic will not require you to pay any annual fees.
Student
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If you are a student, then you probably need an offer of a plastic that has a low limit. Spending more than your budget can be quite easy, especially as a student when you have to pay for your college, your own utility bills and other essentials such as food, water, etc. This is why the offer of a low limit card can make your life easy because you won’t have to worry about spending too much ever again.
Naturally, you would also get various advantages such as discounts when buying from businesses that are local to your college or your home. If you manage to maintain a minimum of 3.5 point grade average there is also a chance of getting a lot more advantages over plastic too. You can earn 1% cashback on every single purchase, not categorized purchases and you will often get point boosts if you pay your college fees and bills on time. If you spend more than $250 a month you will also get a $2 bonus in cash which is always a great plus when it comes to credit cards.