Get the Most Out of Your Credit Card Rewards

Get the MOST out of your Credit Card Rewards eloan PRESENTED BY The best rewards EARN WHERE Y OU spenders, so choose ALREADY SPEND. go to the biggest programs that align with your current spending habits and that have rewards you would be excited to claim. GOOD OPTIONS: NOT-SO-GOOD OPTIONS: Favorite Cards for Clothing Store Charge Card Stores Where You Won't Make Many Purchases DON'T HOARD POINTS. Gas Cards Unless you have identified a specific occasion when you plan to spend your points, don't squirrel them away indefinitely. If you want to benefit from having them, you have to use them. UNCLAIMED REWARDS Tip: buy little things on accounts with few points! The average active U.S. household earns $622 in rewards per year, but fails to cash in on one- third of it, i$205 UNCLAIMED REWARDS DON'T SPREAD It's better to have enough points for great rewards on one or two cards READ THE SMALL PRINT YOUR POINTS TOO THIN. than it is to have a Card issuers are willing to give a little in order to earn your loyalty, but kindness has its limits. Beware of restrictions that would kill your chances of earning, and using, rewards. small handful of points spread across many. TOTAL MARKET SIZE EARN POINTS UP ONE SIDE & DOWN THE OTHER. More than 2 billion points-based loyalty program memberships nationwide Average of 18 loyalty program memberships per household Choose programs that let you earn points for general purchases plus extra credit for brand rewards. KNOW ALL THE WAYS TO EARN Many cards offer earnings options outside of direct card transactions. RETAIL Take the time to learn about program details to maximize your earning potential. RETAIL STORE CARD ONLY · Earn Points for store purchases • Get rewards and perks for use at store GENERAL PURCHASE CARD ONLY • Earn Points for purchases at multiple retailers • Choose from a STORE + GENERAL PURCHASE CARD • Earn Points for purchases at branded store AND other retailers • Get rewards and perks at store AND choose from a menu of other rewards CAR RENTALS DINING REWARDS menu of rewards PICK UP THE KNOW ALL THE WAYS TO REDEEM CHECK Many cards offer redemption options outside of direct repurchase of products and services. Take the time to learn about program details to maximize your redemption potential. Fronting the money for group expenses is a great way to earn a lot of points on your card without spending much of your own money. The next time you go out to dinner or organize a group activity, put it on your card and let your friends pay you back SUBSCRIPTIONS CHARITABLE DONATIONS in cash. Putting only your share of dinner on the card for one year putting yours and three friends' share of dinner on the card for one year = $500 DON'T USE CREDIT AS = $2,000 AN EXCUSE TO SPEND MORE. spent toward earning points spent toward earning points (assumes -$42 per person, once a month for a year) Spending more just because you have a credit line is exactly what card issuers want card members to do. Be careful of spending a lot more than you normally would-overspending will cancel out the value of the reward. DO THE MATH ON PERKS Certain cards offer perks that may COMPARE SPENDING BEFORE & AFTER STORE CREDIT CARD: save cardholders real money FREE BEFORE: = $75 AFTER: = $100 Avg. monthly spend at store X Avg. monthly spend at store X REWARDS: Earn back $100 for every $1000 spent. ANNUAL COMPARISON: No card = $900/year spend With Card = $1,100/year spend ($1,200-$100 rewards credit) Net spend increase = $200 STORE Coffee eloan eloan.com Source: Gordon, Nancy (COO, Swift Exchange) and Kelly Hlavinka (Managing Partner, Colloquy). "Buried Treasure: The 2011 Forecast of U.S. Consumer Loyalty GDP of Guatemala: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html Program Points Value," Liability Talk, April 2011 http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/nordstrom-card-compare-apply http://www.colloquy.com/files/2011-COLLOQUY-Liability-Talk-White-Paper.pdf. Copyright © 2012 E-LOAN, Inc. All rights reserved. BANK NAME CARD 3000 0869 O43 CARDHOL DER NA BANK NAME 2000 0864 0430 D020