Credit Card Rewards

• Rewards
  Cards

Card Supplier	Rewards	Typical APR	Intro 0% Balance Transfers	Intro 0% Purchases	More details & Apply
MBNA Platinum Rewards Visa	1 point for every £1 you spend. Points can be redeemed on flights, vouchers, holidays, or days out.	15.90% APR	0.00% PA until September 1st 2009 (2.90% fee)	0.00% PA until November 1st 2008	more details apply
Nectar Credit Card Amex	Up to 4 Nectar points earned for every £1 spent at Nectar sponsors, 1 Nectar point earned for every £1 spent elsewhere. 5000 Nectar bonus points when you spent £200 in the first 3 months - double points for first three months. Foreign exchange rate set daily using Reuters Interbank Rate. Access to American Express\' 1,700 Travel Offices world-wide. Motor insurance available through American Express Insurance Services. Refund Protection - provides refunds to cardmembers in the event of any retailer, online or offline, refusing to refund the value of any goods taken back within 90 days of them being purchased. Nectar Credit Card has a chip implanted in it to enable American Express to add more features in future.	18.90% APR	N/A	N/A	more details apply
British Airways Amex	1 BA Mile for virtually every £1 spent using the Card. Companion airline ticket when you spend £20K on the Card within one year and you redeem your BA Miles for BA flight. Refund Protection.	17.90% APR	N/A	N/A	more details apply
Egg Visa	Egg Rewards scheme: discounts and instant cashback with selected retailers. 10% off Egg Travel Insurance.	16.90% APR	0.00% PA until September 1st 2009 (3.00% fee)	0.00% PA until October 1st 2008	more details apply
Citi Shell MasterCard	3% rebate on Shell fuel purchases & 1% on all other spending. Rebate used against future Shell fuel purchases. Price Match Guarantee - If you purchase an item on your card and find it cheaper elsewhere within 60 days, the difference will be refunded. Various promotional offers will be made available through approved third parties.	16.90% APR	0.00% PA for 12 months (3.00% fee)	N/A	more details apply
Citi easyJet MasterCard	Free easyJet flight (worth £40) if £250 spent on the card in the first 3 months. 10% back on easyJet flights in first 3 months. 1 mile per £1 spent in UK, 2 miles per £1 spent overseas and 3 miles per £1 spent on easyJet flights. Each mile worth 1p off easyJet flights. Price Match Guarantee - If you purchase an item on your card and find it cheaper elesewhere within 60 days, we\'ll refund the difference. Indentity Theft Solutions - free service provided if card holders identity is stolen to restore customers credit history. Various promotional offers will be made available through approved third parties.	16.90% APR	0.00% PA for 9 months (3.00% fee)	N/A	more details apply
Barclaycard Breathe MasterCard	Emergency Card Replacement and Cash Advance - fast help if cardholders lose their Barclaycard whilst travelling away from home. An emergency cash advance of up to £1000 per week can be arranged, or a temporary replacement card can be issued. Other services offered include, Identity Protection Service, Purchase Delivery Protection and Home Emergency Helpline. Discounts available at selected retailers. See www.barclaycard.co.uk for full details.	14.90% APR	0.00% PA for 12 months (2.50% fee)	N/A	more details apply

Over the last few years, you may have noticed a significant rise in the number of reward schemes related to credit cards on the market. This is no coincidence. There’s been a general increase in the number of ways in which customers can earn money for their purchases. As well as being a nice psychological piece of marketing, it has proven to be beneficial for the end consumer. And this is what we’re going to look at.

Just what is a reward scheme?

Well, the typical system works in such a fashion that you get rewarded for your loyalty to a company. Whether this be my taking out a subscription or shopping there regularly, a reward scheme encourages the card holder to increase their activity in a certain chain of retail.

For example, you may have heard of the Tesco Clubcard. This is an extremely popular card for people who regularly do their shopping at Tesco, and by talking out the loyalty reward scheme, they can gain a return on the money that they spend shopping with the company. Tesco benefit from having your regular custom, and you benefit from getting a cashback return.

These kind of loyalty reward schemes are matched by the idea of a reward credit card. Some companies will offer a special 0% purchases deal to compliment their store loyalty packages. These are usually offered with an introductory period where customers can take full advantage of the interest-free rates, and providing they make the repayments in the given time period, the cards can be put to perfectly good use.

If you fail to keep up with your repayments on the debts, you’re likely to find yourself lumbered with a hefty APR.

But they’re not called reward schemes without due reason and the good news is that these packages are generally pretty well adapted for the modern day customer. If you’re a regular customer at a particular store, you can save a great deal by signing up to their reward schemes. Many offer fully fledged credit card accounts and when combined with the loyalty scheme, you can enjoy the luxury of interest-free purchases and cashback at the end of the year.

Cashback rates vary quite dramatically. Exact figures may depend on the type of product being purchased, or the provider’s individual account policies. You can expect between 1% and 3% in cashback from your purchases. Does it sound a lot? Not really. But the whole point of a reward scheme is that the pennies soon turn in to pounds. You’ll rack up money on your reward card and in some instances, it’s even possible to gain interest discounts based on how active you are with the store in question.

Don’t make the mistake of spending for the sake of cashback gain though. It should go without saying that as wonderful a creation as cashback is, it isn’t fantastic enough to justify purchasing something that you don’t actually need or want! Think before you buy, and avoid cashback motivated purchases!