Hidden Perks: How To Take Advantage Of Your Credit Card’s Benefits

A well-chosen credit card may not immediately sparkle with little jewels of benefits. You may be perfectly well satisfied to have a credit card that serves as a functional fall-back option and to allow you some credit in emergencies. But look more closely, and you can discover those sparkling gems: many credit cards offer benefits that vastly increase their value, perks ranging from airline miles to cash back with specified merchants, reward points and even extra warranty protection. With so many Singaporeans using credit cards these days, it’s just financial common sense to discover and take advantage of credit cards’ additional benefits.

1. Extended Warranties

When you buy electronics or things that are a bit pricier, they often come with manufacturer warranties. But you may also be protected by an additional warranty that some credit card companies offer to their cardholders. Many times companies will double the manufacturer warranty, which is why you should always use your card when making such purchases.

2. Travel and Leisure Benefits

Many people are already aware that most credit card companies offer plenty of benefits and rewards for people when they are travelling. These come in the form of airline miles or points that can be redeemed for hotel stays. Some companies even offer travel insurance for certain customers or insurance on airline service which may fall flat due to a delayed or cancelled flight.

3. Cash-Back Schemes

It is not uncommon for some credit card companies to offer their customers cash back on certain purchases. One fact, however, that a lot of people do not know is that a cash-back plan can even have multiple benefits if the card is used to buy groceries or petrol. Instead of using your store’s loyalty card when you buy groceries, use your credit card if they offer a higher cash-back percentage than what you’d save using the loyalty card.

4. The Best Fraud Protection

Using a credit card can be like an open door to any fraudulent activity on your account. But if you have outstanding fraud protection built into your card agreement by the card company, you may save yourself a lot of hassle. Many companies will immediately take care of a fraud problem and reimburse those charges without you needing to fill out a ton of paperwork.

5. Protecting Your Credit Score

While missing a payment is never a good idea, credit card companies cannot actually report you to the credit bureau until your payments are 30 days late. That means that if you get your payment to the company within that period, you will not receive a black mark on your credit history. That is something that not all credit card companies tell you about from the start.

6. Options to Pay More Quickly

If you do not want to miss the due date to pay your bill, instead of mailing in your payment or paying online, you can actually go and pay right at the bank. This ensures that your payment is accepted that very day, and you can better budget for whatever else you need to think about. This helps you avoid late fees, and of course, your credit card company will be happier with you too. But they often divulge the quick payment option because they do, in fact, like the late fees.

7. Purchase Protection

There are some credit card companies out there that will offer you a protection perk on all your purchases. To give an example: if you end up having to return an item to the store, and the store refuses to take it back and refund your money, your credit card company will actually help you out. Rather than the store refunding your money, as if you had paid in cash, the credit card company will take that item and give you a refund for it. This is helpful in cases of long-distance purchases of gifts, for example, or other instances where the store may not take back an item.

Getting the most value from your credit card is one of the best things that you can do. If you know just what secret gems can be unlocked from your card, you can get some great benefits that you may not have thought about before. Look out for some of these rewards the next time you go to open a card, or just talk to your existing credit card company’s customer service. You will not be disappointed.