As long as you pay off your balance, using a rewards credit card for everyday purchases is a smart money move, but there are a few tricks to stack additional savings on top of the credit card rewards you are already earning. Use these 4simple tips to get the most possible cash back rewards when buying what you need:
1. Shop online whenever possible. Here are just a few of the many reasons why:
- The electronic cart helps you stay in your budget
- Less temptation at checkout for impulse buys
- No pressure from the sales staff
- Ability to use online coupons plus earn more cash back from a cash back rewards website
2. Use a coupon code. Find the best coupon code to save the most by checking a comprehensive savings website. Scan through all the offers for whichever store you are purchasing from and select the best offer for what you are buying. Consider a percentage off, set dollar amount off or free shipping offer and use the one that what will save you the most money. Feel free to use a calculator to compare offers and review the shipping fees before making your purchase to make an informed decision. A good savings website will provide coupons for free as well as clearly indicate the expiration date and additional details such as restrictions. Insider tip: Trust a coupon site that stands behind the offers they post with a guarantee and has customer service available to assist you if you need assistance.
For example, using a 20% off coupon on a $100 purchase means $20 saved just by typing in a coupon code that may take you 60 seconds to find.
3. Earn cash back from a savings website. Similar to credit card cash back rewards earnings, online shopping cash back programs give you a portion of your transactions. Your online shopping earnings are deposited into your account. When you are ready to cash in, you get paid out at no cost to you. Best of all, since these programs reward you for shopping online, you can stack your cash back by earning it from the savings site plus from your rewards credit card.
For example, with a 5% cash back rate on your $80 purchase (after your 20% coupon off your $100 total), you earn $4 cash back from online shopping, and all you had to do was click a link from the savings site to the store you already planned to shop at.
4. Select the best rewards credit card to pay with. By following the steps above and using a card with a great cash back rate, you are stacking two cash back earnings, which do not interfere with each other. If you have multiple rewards credit cards, consider which one provides the most benefit before completing your payment details at checkout.
In this example, if your rewards card provides 5% cash back, you’ll earn another $4 cash back from your credit card on your $80 total, for a grand total of savings in this example of $28 on a $100 purchase, with $8 from two forms of cash back.
This is a guest post from Jon Lal, founder of coupons & cash back website BeFrugal.com and couponing & savings expert. BeFrugal.com offers cash back for online shopping at 3,000+ online stores with a current average rate of 7%.
Another good strategy is to pay attention to where your credit card earns the most cash back. Many cash back credit cards give a higher cash back percentage at grocery stores. If that is the case, consider buying the gift cards they sell for other stores. That way you are essentially getting that higher cash back rate at those stores too.
Definitely use the higher percentage reward cards when their bonus category is for the store you’re shopping at. A great tool to maximize reward points/dollars for sure!
I save quite a bit using coupon codes to renew my domain. Just got to find the right place