Best credit cards for holiday spending
You may love the credit cards that stuff your wallet. But as holiday season rolls around, there may be better choices, according to Card Hub, a credit card research site.
Card Hub took a look at 1,000 different credit card offers and found that a number of companies, attempting to nab a bigger share of the estimated $831 that the average consumer spends on gifts each year, are presenting too-good-to-miss offers that might suggest a switch.
"I cannot recall a time when the credit card deals and offers were as lucrative as they are this holiday season," said Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive of Card Hub. "Thinking about your holiday budget now and applying for a credit card that matches your credit score and needs can save you hundreds of dollars on holiday shopping."
What are the best cards to apply for this holiday season?
Chase Sapphire Preferred card: Provides 50,000 points as an initial rewards bonus. You can redeem those points for a $500 check or a statement credit.
Capital One Venture Rewards: Offers 2 miles for every $1 spent, which translates into 2% cash back when you use your miles to offset travel-related purchases.
Citi Platinum Select MasterCard: Offers no interest charges for balance transfers for 21 months. The catch, you've got to pay a 3% balance transfer fee. Still that works out to a niggling interest charge for anyone who is able to pay the balance off completely in the 20th month.
Citi Dividend World MasterCard: Offers 15 motnhs of no interest charges for holiday purchase and provides a $100 initial bonus. If that's not enough, you can get 5% cash back on department store clothing, electronics and toy store purchase until the end of the year. All other purchases qualify for 1% cash back.
In addition, several card companies are offering holiday promotions for existing customers.
American Express is giving 5 times rewards through the New year and offering weekly Facebook deals.
Capital one is providing bonus rewards on purchases make online through Perk Central from Nov. 25 through 28th.
Chase has a weekly holiday merchandise auctions and offers bonus rewards on Amazon.com and ultimate rewards.com purchases.
Discover is offering 5% cash back on up to $300 spent on dining, department and clothing stores, as well as bonus rewards on Amazon.com purchases and deals at Shop Discover.
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