There are many benefits to buying items with a credit card and with plenty of different credit cards with a range of features, you can benefit from almost every purchase you make. Just do your research and find out what credit card best suits your needs and you’ll be reaping the rewards in no time. Here are some specific items you should definitely use a credit card to purchase.
Electronics/Appliances
When buying electronic goods, you expect them to come with at least a one year warranty, if not more. However, there may be items you’d prefer to be covered for longer. Many manufacturers therefore offer extended warranties, allowing you to pay to extend your warranty. This can be a costly option though. The benefit of using your credit card to buy electronics and appliances therefore, is that some credit cards give you an automatic extended warranty for no extra cost. This is an extra that will save you money so long as you remember to pay back your debts on time, to avoid paying interest of course.
Electronic goods are often a big purchase and you’re likely benefit from the Section 75 law which concerns itself with payment protection. If you spend over £100 and pay with a credit card, you are entitled to a refund or compensation on cases of a company going bust after you’ve realised the item wasn’t what you were expecting, or if it just never turns up. Your credit card company will take responsibility and you won’t be left out of pocket. This of course goes for products other than electronics, so long as your spend is between £100 and £30,000.
Another benefit of paying for expensive items such as electronics using a credit card, is that many cards also offer purchase protection. This means that if you make a purchase on a credit card and the item you’ve bought gets stolen or you lose it, the credit card company will pay. Restrictions, such as the amount of time in which you would be eligible to get your money back will however apply.
Travel
If you often find yourself jet setting around the world, perhaps you should consider getting a credit card that offers discounts related to travel. Some credit cards, in particular airline-branded credit cards, offer discounts on flights or miles-based rewards. You can use your airline-branded credit card as an extra alongside your frequent flier rewards, as instead of building up points based on how far you fly, you’ll earn points based on how much you spend. It’s possible to even combine the two, so you’ll see your points and your miles shoot up a lot quicker. Do, however, be careful. Some companies, who offer discounts on flights, often add a surcharge for using your credit card to pay, making the discounts not as great as they first appear.
If you’re travelling away from home, travel insurance is a must. Many credit cards offer free worldwide travel insurance, including lost luggage and flight cancellation cover. Check with your credit card company to see what coverage they offer.
If you’re abroad, sooner or later you’re going to need to pay for something. Often credit cards won’t charge you for spending whilst abroad but they will however charge you for cash withdrawals. Debit cards are definitely the worst option here. Where credit cards will charge you a fee per month for using your card abroad, debit cards will charge you for every single purchase you make.
Once you’ve returned home, many banks make it easy to see what you’ve spent whilst abroad, taking all the hard work out of figuring out exactly what you’ve spent and where your money has gone. Once you’re back at home you can see the withdrawals made in the local currency and then see what this is in sterling. A small fee however will be applied to cover the non-sterling transaction costs.
The Things You Love
There is a variety of different credit card options available to help you get the most back from spending your money on the things you love.
Rewards credit cards give you points or vouchers for every pound that you spend as a way of saying thank you for choosing to purchase using their card. Don’t however get rewards cards confused with store cards. Unlike rewards credit cards, store cards can only be used in the store stated on the card. Store cards charge high interest rates and it’s easy to get in huge amounts of debt quickly and so should be avoided.
You could even consider getting yourself a cashback credit card. Instead of offering points or in-store rewards, you get rewarded with actual cash. Cashback credit cards often offer cashback on items such as petrol and supermarket goods as well as other everyday essentials.
It’s not just purchasing these specific items that can help you see the rewards rolling in. Credit card companies offer benefits for simply signing up with them, in order to entice you to use their company. Benefits can include items such as vouchers, in-store credit and even free flights. Sometimes however, a trigger amount can be set by the credit card company meaning that you have to spend a certain amount before you can get your reward. Once you’ve earned your reward however, there’s nothing stopping you from paying off your bill and never using the card again. So long as you stay on top of your repayments, having a credit card can be a rewarding addition to your wallet.
Sponsored Post