In a recent report by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, rewards, deferred interest, balance transfers, Cash advances, COVID-19 response, and card agreements made the list of practices of credit card issuers.
How does this affect you? Are there any advantages or disadvantages enjoyed or suffered by the end-user as a result of these practices?
Rewards
Though the pandemic sure had threatened travel rewards on credit, credit companies were still coming up with other forms of reward programs that could persuade consumers into opting for their cards. The report notes that cash reward cards have continually been preferred compared to miles reward. “In 2020, cash rewards card spending increased the most of any group, accounting for one third of general purpose card spending”, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
Which do you prefer as a consumer? Below, we have two lists. One consists of top cash rewards offering credit cards, and the other consists of credit cards giving out mileage rewards.
Cash Rewards Credit Cards
- Chase Freedom Flex
- Citi Custom Cash Card
- Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
- Discover it Cash Back
- Savor Rewards Credit Card
- Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
- Capital One Walmart Rewards Card
- U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card
- HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard credit card
- Alliant Cashback Visa Signature Credit Card
- Navy Federal More Rewards American Express Card
Mileage Rewards Credit Cards
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
- Discover it Miles
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card
- Citi Premier Card
- Chase Freedom Flex
- American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card
- American Express Gold Card
- Citi® / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card
If you are looking to get a new credit card soon, these are a few you should consider.
Deferred Interest
Do you know how this works? For deferred interest, you the consumer are given a fixed period of time. Within this time, all the interest charges are deferred. The interest is being calculated of course but it would not and might never be charged if you pay the full promotional balance during the promotional period. The feature has often been in great demand by individuals who make high volume purchases.
Cash Advances
This is one feature one should also watch out for. It is often recommended that you should not take a cash advance. This is because of the huge fees that come with it. For a cash advance, you would need to pay a higher APR and a cash advance fee. All this adds up to increase your debt.
Are you looking to have a full report? The September report of the Consumer Credit Card Market can be found here.
