Every year, it seems as though the holiday season comes with increased spending. Indeed, between entertaining, decorations, and gifts for everyone on your list, the price of Christmas can get really high, really fast.
If you want to offset some of the cost of Christmas, though, there are ways to do it. You can maximize your credit card rewards, and get some of that money back. And you can do it without going into debt.
Maximizing Your Credit Card Rewards
There are a number of Canadian credit card rewards programs. Your first step is to figure out which reward card is going to provide you with your best chance of earning more in rewards. You can consider cash back credit cards, and you can also think about cards that award points. If you frequent Shoppers Drug Mart, consider using the Shoppers Optimum MasterCard, which is known for its rather generous rewards program.
The important thing is to identify the rewards card most likely to provide you with maximum benefits. Then, once you know what card to use, you begin using it to make all of your holiday related purchases. Buying a gift? Use your rewards card! Buying food for the family Christmas party? Use your rewards card!
By using your rewards credit card for all of your holiday spending, you can build up rewards points and cash back faster. At the end of the holiday season, you should have enough built up to get a decent amount of cash back, or have enough points to redeem for travel or merchandise. In the case of the Shoppers Optimum Card, you should be able to use it for quite a bit at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Avoid the Debt Trap
It's important to keep things in perspective, however. Just because you have a plan to earn rewards on your purchases with your credit card use, doesn't mean that you should buy items you didn't plan for, and spend beyond your means. You should have a holiday budget worked out ahead of time, and adhere strictly to it.
Remember: If you end up carrying a balance into the new year, you will destroy the value of your rewards. The interest rates you pay on your credit card balances are so large that they will negate your cash back value, or the value of your rewards points. It's vital that you follow your holiday spending plan and stay on top of your expenses. This plan only works if you buy things you had planned on.
Image source: Benkid77 via Wikimedia Commons
We save all of our credit card cash back points until the Christmas season. We then redeem our points for cash. Actual cash in hand and use it little by little to pay for groceries and party supplies. This way we know that all if the rewards are going towards the holiday celebrations. And I’ll tell you, we spend a lot on food during the holiday season. We’re always looking for a better rewards card so I’ll check out the Shoppers Optimum Mastercard. Nice article!
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