Credit cards can be a very useful way of spreading out the cost of large purchases and expenses, such a buying a new sofa or paying to repair a car for example. As long you use your credit card responsibly and pay off your balance each month, you won’t have to worry about debt or interest payments and will generally find credit cards very useful indeed.
As well as the basic functions of a credit card – lending you money to be repaid at a later date – there are also a few benefits and extra features you can enjoy when you become a credit card holder. Here are 5 of the best benefits and extras offered by different credit card providers:
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Free or discount flights and travel. To get you to sign up, credit card providers often compete with each other to offer increasingly more tempting freebies. One of the best is Avios (the replacement for Air Miles) points, which can get you free or discount flights. You can also find cards which allow you to build up rewards to be used towards Eurostar journeys and other forms of travel.
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Extended warranties on products. When you buy a product, you usually get a warranty of around 12 months or so. However, certain credit cards offer you automatic extended warranties of at least an extra year on the products (usually electrical goods) you buy using the credit card.
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Cheap spending abroad. It can be really expensive to use your credit card abroad, but certain cards specially designed for use abroad can actually be even cheaper than the best bureaux de change. In fact, MoneySavingExpert estimates that you can be up to 6% better off when spending abroad if you choose the right card.
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Purchase protection. This is a system which comes with many credit cards which offers you protection for purchases paid for on the card. If something is lost or stolen within a set time of you buying it (i.e. 90 days), you may be able to get the money back for the purchase from your credit card provider.
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Free protection against ID fraud. This is a major concern among people thinking of getting credit cards, especially those that apply for credit card online products and want to use their cards for online shopping. Some credit cards come with free ID fraud protection as standard, and it can also apply to other financial products you may have.