Christmas is over and after all the food is gone, the gifts have been opened and some returned, you are dreading receiving your January credit card statement. Yes it was a great holiday, but soon you would be reminded of just how good it was for the next twelve months. There is no way to avoid clearing your Christmas 2006 spend, but there are a few ways you can prepare better for Christmas 2007.
Airline Credit Cards
If you are looking for a way to earn rewards while you do your everyday shopping and bill paying activities then these credit cards would be beneficial to you. You can start off by consolidating your current credit card balances and transferring it to your new airline credit card. Most cards carry a 0% APR on all new balance transfers and purchases for the first 12 months. This would give you a chance to clear off some or all of your debts without having to pay any interest on the old or new purchases.
You should ensure your new card does not carry an annual fee as you may find yourself having to pay the money you saved on interest towards the annual fee at the end of the 12 month period. The reversionary APR is also important as you do not want to have a high increase in your monthly bill after the Christmas 2007 holiday, this could defeat the entire purpose of the balance transfer.
Look for cards with the highest bonus miles offering, and the best per dollar earning, some cards offer two miles per dollar spent while others offer one mile per dollar spent. The higher the per dollar earning the quicker you would rack up redeemable miles.
Throughout the year, you would not be able to avoid spending on necessities and with your airline credit card you would be able to earn miles or points that can be redeemed for Christmas gifts at the end of the year. This could prove to be a great savings that would ensure you do not end up with a huge credit card bill next January.
Based on the types of presents you would normally buy, match these with redeemable options available from your new airline credit card e.g. if you spend a lot on children at Christmas, make sure you can redeem your miles at stores such as Toys R Us, if you normally have to fly your child home from college, make sure you know how many miles you need to earn.
Miles can often be redeemed for gift certificates; you can use these as presents next Christmas as well. Be sure to look at all the partner merchants that you can earn miles with, because you can earn a lot more a lot faster this way. Airline companies partner with providers of wireless services, financial services and even movers, the possibilities are endless, you just need to find the best options to suit your needs. Once you earn and redeem your miles wisely, you could save on your Christmas bill at the end of the year.
