Credit card means a card issued by the financial company which gives the holder an option to borrow funds, in other words it gives an option to the holder to buy goods or services on credit. Hence, here a credit card bonuses means a credit card that offers you a

·         Rebate
·         Cash back
·         Reward points

which the owner can use to purchase goods or services. Card holders can easily earn bonuses even without them knowing it from almost all the good and services they purchase. Yet most of them do not really notice those bonus accounts until they experience in redeeming those bonuses. Sometimes, these bonuses may reach as high as hundred or thousand monetary, free of tax.

Reasons hindering you in redeeming your bonuses:

·         Blackout dates
·         Expiration dates
·         Scattered balance

Hence you should be aware with the complex features of your credit card and the different ways of earning bonus points.

Having kept themselves on the narrow way for a couple of years and their list of credit card customers, the companies are beginning to gain again. Looking for new customers, they try to win their customers back with lots of offers in credit card bonuses. People all over the world are finding lots of offers in their mails everyday and so often nowadays. Hence there are so many rewards cards on offers now a day that every company is now trying hard to come up with a variety of schemes that will stand. And customers are also responding enthusiastically too.

Of course, the credit card companies are still facing difficulty after having seen thousands of defaults over the last couple of years. They only offer good deals to those people who have good credit. They are only willing to bet on people who they feel will use their credit cards a good deal and pay their bills.

 When studies compare the spending habits of credit card users who get cash rewards with users who don’t get cash rewards, they find that cards with rewards usually get higher unpaid balances and higher spending. Not only that, they find that when they introduce a cash-back reward on an old card that is quite unused by its holder, that 10% of credit card holders start using those cards right away. Just a 1% cash-back reward gets people to spend more and then hold higher balances on their cards. To the credit card issuers, it’s just a very profitable way to trick people into using their cards.
What to do to get the best deal?
Read the terms and conditions: Most of the cash-back offers are not as simple as they appear. Many of the cards will limit the cash that you can get back. For example, The Chase Freedom Card makes sure that you cannot ever earn more than $75 every three months. And the Discover More card tops out at $800 every quarter. Based on the awareness of kind of purchases, they offer you cash-back rewards. Sometimes it will be in restaurants and movie; sometimes, it will be for only gas. Remember, you need to be sure that you know how much you have to spend. If you like shopping at stores for the best deals, most cards do not suit those. If you didn’t make a payment for two months, you will forfeit all your rewards.
Types of credit cards and their reward points:

Standard credit card: It is also called “Plain-vanilla” which allows you to have a revolving balance up to a certain credit limit. This type of credit card doesn’t offer any rewards or bonuses
Premium Credit cards: These types of credit cards offer benefits and incentives beyond a regular credit card. It includes Gold and Platinum credit cards which offer cash back, reward points and travel upgrades to the cardholders.
Charge credit cards: It means cards which do not have a present limit for spending and balances must be paid in full at the end of each period. Until the balances are paid they will not offer any bonuses.
Limited Purpose Cards: These types of cards can only be used for specific places or locations. Hence its bonuses are also limited to only certain locations where it is applicable.

Advantages of credit card bonuses:
Credit card bonuses will be applicable for you only if you pay your balance in full and on time each period. If you maintain this then you will have the following advantages
1. Chase freedom: In the chase freedom card, anyone can earn up to $200 if your purchases are $500 in first three months.
2. Capital One cash: This will provide you $100 cash back if your purchases are $500 for the first three months. It also issue 50% bonus on the cash back, you earn each year.
3. Gold Delta SkyMiles from American Express: In this, if you make purchase worth $500 in first three months after sign-up, the gold Delta skymiles will earn you a $300 which you can apply towards the purchase of a ticket on Delta Airlines.
4. Chase Sapphire preferred: In this chase sapphire preferred card you will get a reward with 50000 bonus points if you spend $3000 in the card in first three months of ownership. This 50000 points is equal to $625 for travel expenses, or $5000 in cash back. This is a great advantage for those who travel frequently.
5. Citi Thank You Premier: In this, if you make a purchase of $2000 in three months of sign-up for the Citi thank You Premier card, then you will be given a reward of $300 in gift cards. After this, you will earn one point on one dollar spent as initial bonus.
Different ways you can redeem your bonuses in credit card:
1.    Pay with rewards or points: In this way you can redeem your reward points by shopping online. Where some of the credit card issuers offer you with the ability to shop online at selected retailers and pay for your purchase with your reward points
2.    Buy a gift card: This is one of the popular ways to redeem your reward points because of their flexibility and dollar value. Some cards even offer extra rewards when you purchase this gift card through a retail partner.
3.    Apply towards travel: In this you can redeem your credit rewards for travel and can save hundreds of dollars on hotels or airfare. In this you have to check which travel sites partner with your issuer because some travel restrictions often make travel redemption frustrating.
4.    Donate to charity:  When your switching credit cards or your points are about to expire, and then by that time you can consider donating your points to someone instead of spending them on something you don’t need. Thus if you plan to make a charitable donation, do check if your issuer requires a minimum number of rewards points to donate.
5.    Redeem for settlement or cash credit: In this you can get a direct deposit to your bank account or a statement of credit. This is a straightforward way to make your reward points work for you by paying your bills and improving overall bottom-line.

Tips to Earn Extra cash with credit card bonuses:

Cash back is the best way to make use of your credit card even more profitable. Tips to earn more cash with credit card bonuses will be as follows,
·         Pay off your balance: Avoid to spend more than you are able to pay back immediately simply to earn more rewards. Thus if you pay more in interest each period the less valuable your reward points become.
·         Try to establish a balance in fewer programs: This implies that you can be at least fly one or two airlines in a year to get your rewards.  You can also try to book at the same hotel again, go to the same grocery store, and use only one and the same credit rewards card.
·         Develop a credit card strategy for spending: If you own more than one rewards card, first know which of the best card to use in specific situations is. Certain cards will offer extra points for restaurants, gas, travel and other categories. You must know the best way to use your credit card.
·         Focus on Diversity of credit card brands: If you have only one type of card, say for instance- Visa or MasterCard, you will discover that not all the retailers accept all cards. If you have multiple cards, make sure that they belong to different companies, so that you will have more flexibility to maximize your rewards. Thus, the rewards are not just meant as spending bonuses, instead they also offer different discounts throughout the year.
·         Picking appropriate card for your habits of spending: We cannot give you the importance of picking the best card for your type of lifestyle. Hence picking the right card is not an easy one, because they are not custom designed for individuals. Thus high paid marketing teams are trying to attract many customers in a group as possible – say for instance, business travelers or students. Hence it is up to you to decide or determine which card provides you the most rewards based on your spending habits.
·         Focus on your spending: It is easy when it comes to redeeming rewards. However, you must be careful though you can quickly double or triple your credit card points to earn faster. Thus, the more credit you are using the fewer points you will be able to accumulate on each. Set a plan to save your rewards for a big ticket or much needed item and concentrate your spending on your card that offers the best point to cash value.
·         Choose your credit card programs which are designed towards the way you spend your money: The needs you have as a person will be dependent in view of the rewards that you will get. If you regularly travel then a mileage type of card will suits you the best.  If you are fond of driving then a gas card will be the best.  You may also check out some of the sites like credit card checker and utilize their efficient tools that guide you in selecting a card which will help you in your spending.
·         Look for bonus offers: If you are earning one point for every $1 you are spending then you will be missing out on some rewards. Many credit card issuers offer a high cash back rate in several special categories, for a specific dollar amount. Most credit card issuers offer bonus through their website like earning double or triple cash back by shopping through their online rewards mall.
·         Refrain from having a maintenance fee: Choose a credit card that does not require you to pay a yearly fee. In case, if you are sure that you can earn more rewards for what you pay as annual fee, then go for that.  Otherwise, choose only one that does not charge you with annual fee.

                                                  
·         Estimate Your Rewards Cash Value: One of the best ways to determine your rewards value is to calculate your rewards cash value so that you can determine the best return. Try to focus on the rewards which you get for every dollar that you spent. A good way to calculate your rewards value is to divide the dollar value of your credit card by the cash rewards or the number of points you need to redeem a specific reward. In this case, the actual points that is required for a reward, is what less than you had spend to earn it and the more valuable your rewards will be.
·         Avoid purchasing electronics: Electronics which does not actually compensate the reward that it may give you if you will use your credit card buying it.  You better use your credit card in other redeemable options because it will give you more rewards points.
·         Have a record on dates of expiration: Mostly all rewards program has an expiry date wherein your points will become useless or inactive.  If you do not pay attention to these, you will just be throwing away your cash in the form of rewards.
Thus every credit card company continuously strives to enhance the value that they offer to their cardholders and find ways to make their relationship even more rewarding.