Credit card companies are improving their efforts, in an attempt to attract even more customers in 2018. According to Consumer Affairs, consumers applying for a credit card will benefit from a lot more attractive options, as the competition is getting bigger and bigger.
In a nutshell, we’re expecting to see bigger and better credit card rewards in the upcoming months!
In 2017, we could observe an impressive increase in rewards, but also a decline in fees. Senior Credit Specialist at CompareCards, Thomas Donaldson, believes that the perks will make cards way more attractive than until now.
“Heading into 2018, the credit card landscape is more competitive than ever as issuers compete for the number one spot in consumer’s wallets,” he said. “When banks compete, consumers win.”
Cashback cards, to conquer the market?
There’s no doubt that cashback cards are very popular among consumers, so it’s natural that banks will issue a lot of them. This will attract generous rewards, but also travel rewards structures, which somehow mimic cashback programs.
But what will the best rewards credit card do? Well, it’s very easy.
Consumers managed to rack up an estimated of $43 billion in holiday debt, so the best card will be that one which allows you to transfer a balance from another card, without paying any interest for an extended period.
Better balance transfer offers are coming!
Besides improved credit card rewards, we’re also looking forward to seeing better balance transfer offers this year. For example, in January, there are already a lot of them tempting you with a 0% introductory fee for balance transfers, but also zero percent rates for more than a year.
Even more, if you’re planning to make a payment on a $10,000 credit card balance, at an interest rate of 17 percent, your savings would be around $140 per month.
“Since the Fed started raising rates at the end of 2015, the average interest rate on outstanding credit card balances has increased 86 basis points, according to a CompareCards analysis of Federal Reserve data,” Thomas Donaldson added. “That represents $7 billion in extra interest owed this year for Americans who carry a balance on their credit card.”
