Published: 04/06/2008

Most of us have a credit card or two in our purse or wallet, but do we make the best use of them or are we missing out on some cashback or rewards that would cost us nothing? There's not one credit card that's a perfect all rounder, so why not keep a trio of cards so you can make the best of 0% balance transfers, get fee free foreign currency transactions whilst on holiday abroad and benefit from rewards or cashback on your day to day spending.

The top cards for these circumstances are currently as follows:
0% Balance Transfers- Virgin Money MasterCard offering interest free transfers for 15 months (subject to a transfer fee of 2.98% min £3)
Fee free foreign transactions - Nationwide Building Society Classic Credit Card
Cashback - American Express Platinum Cashback card - pays a massive 5% cashback on purchases in first 3 months up to a maximum reward of £200. It's especially good for big spenders as the cashback levels reach 1.5% for annual spending above £10,000.
 
Credit Cards with reward benefits

If you spend on a rewards credit card you'll be repaid for spending in either points - used to redeem against meals out, flights, trips or in some cases a cash rebate. However be aware that credit card transactions, such as balance transfers, generally won't count towards your points. Reward cards are a clever marketing ploy, designed to encourage us to spend, as the more you spend the more points you build up.

How can you pick the card that's right for you? - well that's not quite so straight forward as it depends on your shopping habits and the type of reward that appeals to you. So let's take a look at some of the options and how much you can earn - just by using a different card for all your day to day purchases.

So whilst vouchers for £69.00 or £112.50 off your shopping is great for doing nothing, if you use the vouchers to buy deals from the Tesco deals catalogue, the vouchers are worth 4 times their face value. So how does £276 or £450 worth of hotel accommodation, restaurant meals, flights, holidays or days out grab you?

Whilst £80 in rewards isn't going to change the world, it's certainly not to be sniffed at. To put it into perspective, you would only earn £88 net interest on your savings at 5.5% if you had a balance of £2,000 in your account for a full 12 months.

So why not take advantage of this 'something for nothing' opportunity and use the vouchers to treat yourself, or perhaps use them as Birthday or Christmas presents for friends or relatives.

Other reward deals worth a look:

SkyCard MasterCard - gives you 1 point for every £1 spent which can be used against Sky digital subscription, Sky box office movies, pay per view events and Sky merchandise.

British Airways American Express Card - collect 1 BA mile for every £1 spent, collect 1,000 miles the first time you use the card and an additional 2,000 bonus miles when you spend £2,000 in the first three months.

Important information
Cashback and reward credit cards can prove to be good value as long as you pay your statement balance off in full every month, otherwise interest charges could more than wipe out any benefit you've accrued in rewards or cashback.

Happy shopping!