Do you like being rewarded? It’s easy! If your current credit card doesn’t offer you points or cash back, you may be missing out on a great opportunity to receive major rewards!

A rewards credit card works the same as a regular credit card, but you will earn points for each transaction that can later be applied towards something for you (think vacation, cool tech, or even gift cards)! Get the nitty gritty details about rewards credit cards here, and then make the switch to a credit card that pays you.

How does a rewards card work?

Each time you use your credit card, you will earn points. How many points? That can change depending on the type of card and if there are any current promotions. Right now for Advia’s Visa® Platinum with Advantage Points Credit Card, you can earn 1% cash back (equal to $0.01) for every $1 for all purchases and 5% cash back (equal to $0.05) on Gas, Grocery, and Amazon purchases.* That means if you buy something on Amazon using your Advantage Points Credit Card for $1,000, you will earn 50 points. If you buy a couch from a local furniture store using your Advantage Points Credit Card for $2,500, you will earn 25 points.

You can then search through the rewards catalog and use your points to redeem all types of rewards! For example, in terms of price points, merchandise can range anywhere from 1,000 (infant pajama set) – 275,000 (1 week hotel stay in Miami Beach). Or you can simply redeem your points for cash.

Not all rewards credit cards work like this, however. Some offering "cash back" automatically apply the money you've earned from your purchases to your monthly bill to pay off charges. While this helps you pay off your debt, you don't have much freedom on how you use your earned "cash back." With the Advia Platinum Advantage Points Credit Card, you can redeem your points for cash that can be loaded into your Advia account.

What are some common credit card reward categories?

1. Travel 

Book your hotel and flight right through the rewards catalog and travel for free!

2. Gift Cards

Retail, restaurant, or car rental gift cards are available for purchase with your points. Turn your points into cash for you. For Visa, 5,000 points = $50.

3. Events

Want tickets for your favorite sports game or concert? Redeem your points instead of using cash!

4. Merchandise

Buy gifts for yourself, friends, or family using your points! The rewards catalog has an amazing variety of items from baby, to technology, to recreational sports!

5. Cash Back

Turn points right into cash that is deposited into your Checking or Savings Account.

Do all rewards cards offer the same categories?

No, the above categories are all available with Advia's Visa Platinum with Advantage Points Credit Card.  While these are the common categories, other types of rewards credit cards can have stricter rewards programs:

• Credit cards partnered with airlines only offer airline miles as rewards and you can often only purchase tickets from that specific airline.
• Affinity cards earn "cash back" on each transaction, but that money is donated to a designated charitable organization. While this is very generous, the donation to charity is often times not tax deductible for the cardholder and the donation amount is very small (0.05% of the transaction amount).
• Investment rewards cards put your earned cash back into an investment account. This investment account would need to be managed by the partner company on the credit card.
• Home rebate cards use your earned points to reduce your mortgage balance. For this, you would need to have your credit card where you have your mortgage, and the mortgage payments are only applied when your rewards reach $25.

Where do you go to find the rewards?

For Advia’s Visa Platinum with Advantage Points Credit Card, you can search the entire rewards catalog online.

How do you access the rewards?

Each cardholder receives a login for the catalog site. Note, the login and password are different from your Advia Digital Banking login. Once in, you’ll be able to check your reward points balance as well as search the catalog for rewards in your points range. You purchase everything directly through the catalog and can easily contact Visa’s Customer Care Representatives if you have questions.

Do you have to pay more in interest or fees on rewards cards?

Not necessarily! Here at Advia, our Visa Platinum with Advantage Points Credit Card has a 4.99% Introductory APR† with no annual fee or balance transfer fee! That's not the case for all rewards cards, however, with some charging as high as a $300 annual fee¹ and with APRs as high as 24%.²

Ready to make the switch from a regular credit card to a rewards credit card? Makes sense. Our Visa Platinum with Advantage Points Credit Card has no balance transfer fee so you can transfer your current credit card balance right on to your new card and never miss a beat. Apply online and start getting those points!

*Earn rewards when you use your card to make purchases; minus returns, credits and adjustments ("Net Purchases"). The following transactions are not considered Net Purchases and will not earn rewards: Balance Transfers and Cash Advances (each as defined in your Credit Card Agreement), fees, interest charges, and fraudulent transactions. Earn 1% cash back (equal to $0.01) for every $1 of Net Purchases charged to the card each billing cycle for accounts in good standing. The minimum cash reward redemption in a single transaction is $50.00 and the maximum is $800.00. Rewards expire three years from the time they are earned. 5% back valid for Visa Platinum with Advantage Points Credit Card purchases in select categories: Gas and Grocery up to $1,500 in combined purchases and up to $1,500 in combined Amazon purchases 4/1-12/31/2018. Any purchase amount that exceeds $1,500 in either category will earn the standard 1% back. Amazon purchases exclude subscription and subsidiary services including but not limited to: Amazon Prime Membership Renewal, Audible, Amazon Pantry, and Kindle. Grocery purchases exclude wholesale retailers. †Introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on purchases and balance transfers made during the first six (6) months from opening/ issuance of your card. On the first day of new billing cycle following promotional period of six (6) months for purchases and one (1) year on balance transfers your standard variable or fixed APR and fees will apply. Advia applies a penalty on promotional rates for late or missed payments. Variable Card APR will be 10.00% to 18.00%, based on your creditworthiness; this APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. The APR may vary quarterly, and will be determined according to an index. The index is the highest Prime rate charged by banks as published in the Wall Street Journal as of the last business day of each quarter. A quarter is defined as a calendar quarter beginning January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Your APR is equal to, as low as Prime index + 7.00%. An increase in the index will result in an increase to your APR. Fixed Card APR will be 8.90% to 16.90%, based on your creditworthiness. Rates vary based on creditworthiness of borrower(s) at time of application. Any increase or decrease in the APR will take effect on the first day of the following months billing cycle. The maximum APR will be 18.00%. All loans subject to approval. Must be at least 18 years old to apply. Average national credit card interest rate provided by creditcards.com. Advia is an Equal Opportunity Lender.

References:

1 https://www.thebalance.com/the-basics-of-rewards-credit-cards-960232

2 https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/rewards/