Some offer a great value and you can come out ahead if you choose the right card program. You want a plan that works efficiently and provides you with the most reward return.

What Is A Cash Back Rewards Card?

A cash back card is a card that rewards you back for spending. Some cards offer more rewards than others, but higher rewards does not necessarily indicate the best cards. There are more things to consider than just the cash back percentage you can receive from using a card.

How The Cash Back Card Works

The basic concept is that you earn points for every dollar spent on the card. Points are then redeemed or credited back to the card as a cash value. Some card issuers may offer 1 point per dollar and others may offer more or less points. Sometimes the point value is based on the item purchased.

For example, groceries and fuel may earn 3% or 3 points per dollar while other purchases earn 1% cash back. When comparing card companies, look closely at the rewards offered before signing up because you want to get a card that rewards best for the way you shop.

Card Variety Is A Nice Feature

Cash back credit cards have come a long way from the older miles earned cards that were redeemed for air travel, lodging, and merchandise. There are some cards now that allow choices for points so you can opt for the cash or for other items or services a particular card issuer is promoting.

Cash Back Program Considerations

Many things come into play when selecting a cash back credit card. There are many different types of cards and cash back per point earned or dollar spent is not the only consideration. Compare cards by viewing the overall picture so you get the best value and benefits with the card you choose. Here are things to consider when comparing cards:

• Interest Rate – it is important to compare rates. One card may offer huge cash back for a short term but have a much higher interest rate. This could work for you, but only if you pay the card off each month and avoid the high interest expense.

• Fees and Penalties – read the fine print. Some card issuers charge excessively high late penalties or fees for those who pay less than the minimum payment amount. There are often penalties for exceeding the card limit, as well.

• Annual Fees – card issuers do have to make money and annual fees are one way of doing that in combination with interest charges, fees, and penalties. Weigh the cost of the card against what you will use it for. Paying a high annual fee for a card you won’t use much is not a wise choice. The cost of the card should be less than what you hope to gain in rewards.

Choosing The Right Card

You are the best candidate to choose the cash back card right for you because you know your spending and shopping habits better than anyone else. You need a card suited to offer the most rewards based on the way you shop and the type of products you shop for. Compare cards across the board for the best interest rate, fee schedule, and award value so you come out ahead of the game.

Best Petrol Credit Card

With the Citibank BP Mastercard you will receive 5% off purchases at BP fuel outlets up to $500 as well as 0.5% off all other purchases on the card.

• $89 annual fee
• 20.89% p.a. on purchases
• 0% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 21.39% p.a.
• 55 days interest free

Read the Citibank BP Credit Card terms and conditions.

Save Money by Finding the Best Credit Card for Petrol

Australians are seeing record high prices for petrol and coupled with the increased cost of living, it’s becoming more important than ever to find ways to save money and reduce the budget. In most cases, families are either considering cutting back on how much petrol they consume, or they find other ways to get around.

While there are some great tips and hints for saving money on the petrol you use, it’s also possible to reduce the amount you spend at the pump.

Shopping around to find the best credit card for petrol can help you reduce the amount you spend on petrol each time you fill up your car. For example, the Coles Group Source card can offer you 8 cents per litre off the price you pay for your petrol at Shell service stations.

Over the course of a year, this can save you a considerable amount on your petrol costs. Add the saving of a $0 annual fee and 0% interest rate on balance transfer for the first six months and you could be saving even more money.

Unfortunately, while there are benefits to this credit card, there are also drawbacks. You may find that your purchases are charged at an interest rate that is significantly higher than other comparable cards available to Australians.

Also, if you pay for purchases using your card after you’ve transferred a credit card balance over from another account, you could also find that you’re incurring interest on your purchases at the higher rate and losing the benefit of the low balance transfer rate.

However, if you’re the type of customer who is willing to repay the outstanding balance on your credit card before the due date each month, you could benefit from paying no interest at all on your purchases for up to 62 days.

When you’re shopping for the best credit card for petrol, take every detail into account before you apply. You might find it’s far more advantageous for you to opt for a different credit card completely, where you can earn bonus rewards points for paying for your petrol at designated service stations.

You could also find that another contender for the best credit card for petrol could be opting for an offer where you could receive a 5% discount of your petrol bill every time you fill up the car.

For example, some cash back credit cards will reward customers for the amount they spend using their credit card, while others will reward you for the amount of money you repay off your balance.

Depending on your own financial situation and your personal spending habits, try to choose the rewards card that best matches how you intend to use the card to get the maximum benefit.

Best Cashback Credit Card

The Citibank BP Mastercard not only gives you 0.5% back on all purchases that you make, but you will also receive 5% cashback at BP outlets up to $600.

• $89 annual fee
• 20.89% p.a. on purchases
• 0% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 21.39% p.a.
• 55 days interest free

Read the Citibank BP Credit Card terms and conditions.

With that in mind, here is a list of the three possible contenders for best cash back credit cards.

Comparing the Best Cash Back Credit Cards

	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)
Citibank BP Credit Card	20.89%	0% for 6 months	$89	21.39%

1. ANZ Balance Visa Credit Card

The ANZ Balance Visa credit card makes it into the list of the best cash back credit cards as you’re rewarded 1 point for every $1 you repay to your balance. This means you can benefit from their 0% balance transfer interest rate for 6 months. As you repay your debt, you’re earning cash back points, yet you’re not being charged any interest on your balance.

Once your balance transfer amount is repaid, you can continue to make purchases to your credit card as you usually would. As you repay the amount of your purchases, you earn more points again. With an annual fee of $79 and a purchase interest rate of 13.74%, this could be considered one of the best cash back credit card options.

2. American Express Platinum MoneyBack Card

The American Express Platinum MoneyBack Card makes the listing for best cash back credit card for being one of the most competitive offers available. Offering 1% cash back on all the purchases you make using your card, this could add up to quite a significant amount of cash back if you use your card frequently. New card holders may receive an introductory 5% cash back rate up to a maximum of $300 for the first three months from the date your account is activated. The downside is that American Express may not be as widely accepted as Visa or MasterCard.

3. Citibank BP MasterCard

The Citibank BP MasterCard is a very competitive cash back credit card, as you not only benefit from earning cash back points, but you also receive discounts on fuel purchases. Paying 0.5% cash back on all purchases and offering a 5% discount off anything purchased at BP locations, this card represents a great offer.

Keep in mind that the best cash back credit cards listed above are chosen from a range of cash back credit cards and may not necessarily be rated against all available Australian credit cards.

Best cash back credit card practices:

Using cash back rewards online

If you are considering the purchase of an item you should take some time to see if the companies on the Internet will give you more cash back for purchasing that item. Some merchant partners will give you up to 40% cash back or more. This is on top of the rewards you receive in cash back from your credit card company. This is one of the best cash back credit card practices you should put in place.

Fully pay off your debt

You do not want to pay more interest charges then what you are receiving in rewards. You should always pay off your debt fully every month. If this is not possible, then you should consider a lower interest rate credit card that is offering enough reward bonuses. In order to maximize the rewards program this is the best cash back credit card advice you can follow.

Make regular payments

You have to make them anyway, regular payments for monthly subscriptions, mortgage payments, utility bills and your phone bills, so why not take advantage of the rewards you can get by paying them this way? You will be receiving money for purchases that you need to make on an everyday basis anyway.

Have two cards

There is an advantage to having two credit cards because you can use the one that has high cash back rewards for your everyday purchases and things that you know you can pay off quickly. You can then have a second credit card with a lower interest rate for larger purchases that you need to take some time to pay off. This will avoid interest charges accumulating on your cash back card.

While you are using these best cash back credit card practices, just keep in mind that it is always good to watch for better deals than what you already have on your card. There are always new deals appearing, and some of them are really great.