Credit Card Affiliate Program

In the first part of this series we talked about five important questions that should be asked to your credit card agent. Revising the concept we find that asking about the various APR's, fees, credit limits, credit card acceptance and additional benefits that come with the credit card definitely help. Now, let start with the other five most important questions to ask.

6. What are the reward associated with the credit card?

Get an idea of the reward program if the credit card is a reward card, and ask how the reward program will help you in your area of operation.

7. Are there any preferred partners for credit card rewards?

Clearly ask whether, there are any preferred partners for the credit card rewards. If so get a list of them and ask what will happen to reward program if money is spent at some location which is not in the preferred partners list.

8. What are the limitations to rewards?

Credit card companies hide lot of reward program related stuff in fine prints. Things such as blackout dates, travel restrictions, seat restrictions, partners restrictions, spending restrictions, reward program expiry affect reward programs very adversely. Get an idea about them.

9. What is the grace period?

Checkout with the credit card company whether they allow grace period to pay the monthly balances or not.

10. What are the things in fine prints that can affect credit card ownership?

Though credit card companies won't tell you all the details buried in fine prints but asking helps. This gives an impression that you want to know as much as possible about the credit card. An informed customer can't easily be duped.

Asking the right questions will surely get you the best deal out there.

Getting rewarded as you spend money with your credit card makes things interesting for a credit card holder. The cashback, free gas, free air travel, free shopping, discounted merchandise and other freebies that a reward credit card brings with it, add value to credit card ownership. But, there are many things that should be considered to get the maximum benefits from a reward credit card. Read on to get familiar with the basics.

Getting the right reward card that 'really' helps your cause is the first thing that should be kept in mind while going for a reward card. There is no point in taking a credit card with gas reward if you don't drive much. Similarly, if you rarely fly, an airline miles reward card will be worthless for you.

What are the limitations to reward program? Get clear about it. Ask the credit card agent or representative about store preferences, gas outlets to which the credit card is affiliated, airlines, blackout dates, travel restrictions, reward expiry, reward point accumulation and what is required to earn rewards. A reward credit card with lots of restrictions and difficult to redeem gift vouchers or reward points will only frustrate things on your end.

A reward program with balance transfer option with 0% intro APR is a good thing to have. It saves you money on high interest rates, and if used properly 0% intro APR credit card can be a good asset.

A good credit history helps you get a good credit card with excellent reward programs. Credit cards with reward programs have very low tolerance for repayment defaults. Generally, if a person defaults the 0% intro APR ceases instantly and a high regular APR takes its place. Similar things happen to other rewards. These things are not told, to the customer but are buried in fine prints. And fine prints control how your reward program behaves under different conditions. So, it is better to get a good idea about all the things that can affect your credit card reward program before settling for a particular reward credit card.