I’ve been a “smart” credit card user for many years, paying off the whole balance every month. Yeah, there have been some careless errors which might have resulted in a late charge or small amount of interest, but for the most part, I’ve been conscious about never allowing the credit card debt to get carried away. (knock on wood, I’ve been lucky!)
We have a couple of “Freedom” credit cards from Chase Bank, and they offer a sizable 5% rewards bonus on purchases like groceries and gasoline. Every quarter the bonus category changes. Last quarter (Jan – Mar), it was gasoline, now (Apr – June), it’s groceries. The downsides are you must “activate” the bonus during the quarter to receive your 5% bonus and there is $1500 purchase maximum. See Chase FAQ.
Even though I usually spend cash for groceries, I’m now using my credit cards to get the bonus cash back. You won’t believe how quickly the savings can stack up!
Last month, I spent $180+ for gasoline, that amounted to about $10 in bonus points. This month, add another $10 rewards from my groceries. By May, I will have earned almost $110 in rewards! Not too shabby. :)