New Credit Card Perks for Good Customers
If you've got a solid credit history, look for some nice credit card perks to come your way in 2011 and 2012
While recent regulations have placed tight strictures on the way that credit card companies do business, new technological advances and a willingness to start lending again have paved the way for some very nice credit card perks.
Let's take a quick look at what's available.
New Offers, Better Deals
For a while, most card companies weren't interested in acquiring new customers; but now that the credit crunch has eased a bit, and they've figured out how to deal with most of the new regulations, they're flooding mailboxes with offers. If you're a prime customer, it's easier to pick up a new card than it's been in years.
Many companies are back to sweetening the deal with decent incentives. For a brief introductory period, you can often get a 0% interest rate if you'll switch to a new card. This kind of offer still existed in the depths of the recession, but the intro period was as little as three months. Now it's up to a year, even longer.
Balance transfer fees had crept up to as high as 5%, but are back down to about 3% on average. Needless to say, you're much more likely to get these deals if you're a big spender with excellent credit. The rest of us, not so much.
Better Rewards
Reward points and cash-back incentives for using your card are nothing new, but over the past year or so, the rewards have become richer and more varied. But be aware that your issuers' largesse may come with a greater willingness to change the rules at the slightest provocation.
Also, reward use has become a lot more complicated, rewards points are more likely to expire quickly, and the issuers have started charging higher annual fees that can offset whatever you may have earned. They may also set a cap on how many points you can earn -- and take them away if you're late on a payment.
A Bit of a Caveat
However! Some card companies, such as Citigroup, are experimenting with letting you pay for purchases with reward points or cash back funds. The experimental Citi card has two buttons on the front, one that sets up a regular payment and another that lets you use your rewards.
Look for those later in 2011. Ain't technology cool?
The Main Thing
All this aside, there are two things you need to keep in mind: first, you have to have a good credit history for any of this to be available to you; and second, you have to be just as careful as ever to pick and choose the card that's right for you. Even now, good credit card perks aren't always easy to come by.
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