First off, Happy Thanksgiving!
Today I’d like to write an update on our rewards credit card, which we got a few years ago. I was a bit cautious about it at the time. After all, prior to this, I had spent many years with high revolving balances on credit cards. I associated having a credit card with feeling stuck in credit card debt.
Yes, this SUCKED 🙁
Happily, I changed things around, paid off the old cards, and experienced the empowerment of being credit card debt-free!
When I was ready to do so, getting our rewards card felt like turning the tables on the credit card companies and beating them at their own game. Instead of feeling anxiety or fear about using a credit card, I now experienced curiosity and satisfaction. After all, we were getting points from the process (!), and we were paying it off promptly each month.
I’m happy to report that now, two years later, the card continues working for us. We have continued paying it off each month. Other than the yearly $95 fee, we have paid exactly $0 (!). Meanwhile, I estimate we have “earned” well over $1000 in points (It could even be as high as $1500).
Another happy development: the original purpose of the rewards card was to get “miles” for travel use. We thought it would be a fun way to save for vacations. Last Christmas, we discovered, to our satisfaction, we could use some of our miles instead to get gift cards for our holiday shopping.
Earlier this year, the credit card company extended the use of our miles so we can pay for everyday purchases (a silver lining of the Pandemic and recession). Therefore, we have been able to put those miles to practical, everyday use. We also are getting more gift cards to be used for the Holidays.
All in all, I’d say it continues to be a very worthwhile, successful experiment.
And yes, I’m giving thanks!*
*Needless to say, I’m thankful for so many things in addition to our rewards card! This being Thanksgiving and me wanting to write about this topic, I dressed up this post a bit for the holiday.