With the increasing popularity of credit cards in America, it’s no surprise that credit card companies and banks continue to flood the market with all manner of cards–rewards credit cards, cash back credit cards, 0% APR credit cards–all in an effort to appeal to as many potential cardholders as possible by offering a wide variety of incentives for use. The major problem with the strategy, however, is that there’s often little explanation of exactly how credit card rewards work in their respective programs: what’s the difference, for example, between cash back cards and rewards credit cards? And which card will, in the end, save you more? The variety and sheer number of rewards programs leaves some potential cardholders confused about the actual market value of their “points” values.
The most prevalent credit card rewards plans out there today fall into two different categories — percentage-based rewards and points-based systems. The former offers a percentage of your money back on purchases in certain targeted categories, most commonly gas, travel, and in some cases entertainment. The latter offers a series of...