It has been suggested in a recent report that many consumers could be wasting a small fortune every year just by using their debit card to make special or day to day purchases instead of using an appropriate credit card. Officials said that using a rewards based credit card could net the spender a small fortune, whereas by using a debit card they get nothing.
Consumers need to ensure that they repay the balance on the card in full each month so that they are not charged any interest, and this will enable them to make the most of rewards based cards, which offer everything from travel rewards and air miles to cash back on purchases and more. The more the card is used the higher the level of rewards the cardholder can enjoy.
Officials from American Express, which carried out the research, said that using a rewards based credit card for Christmas shopping as well as for day to day purchases could prove very lucrative, providing the cardholder clears the balance each month and is not lumbered with costly interest fees.
One American Express official said: “Each British household is paying out thousands of pounds a year on debit cards for everyday items such as supermarket shopping and petrol. Simply by changing the way they pay for these items, people could be earning themselves hundreds of pounds of free cash
