These days, it’s fairly common for credit cards to offer rewards in order to attract customers and to entice them to use their cards. While this can be a dangerous game if you fall into the overspending trap that the credit card companies hope you will succumb to, it can also mean free money for careful spenders!

If you have the self discipline to limit your credit card spending to items you would buy anyway, and to resist overspending, you could wind up making hundreds or even thousands each year. The key is to never allow a revolving balance to go unpaid at the end of the month - if your paying 29% interest to earn 3% cash back, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who’s coming out ahead.

 Some good cards to check out if you’re interested in trying this avenue to earn some ‘free’ money are:

• The Chase rewards card, which is offered by JPMorgan Chase and offers 5% cash back.
• The Chase business card, also offered by JPMorgan Chase, which offers 3% cash back
• The Discover Financial card, which offers 5% cash back
• The Citigroup Citi Dividend Platinum Select card, which offers 2% cash back on certain purchases

If you decide to give this a try, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, keep track of all purchases and rewards - I recommend doing it on a spreadsheet. Also, be sure to read and understand the fine print - many cards only offer cash back on certain purchases, so it’s good to use different cards for different items. Also, don’t fall prey to the psychological game where you wind up spending more to ‘earn’ more. The key here is to get ‘free’ money for simply doing what you already do!

Unfortunately, good rewards are becoming harder to find. Some cards are switching over to a cumulative approach, where you have to spend a certain amount to earn a certain percentage, and others are explicitly limiting how much you can earn annually no matter what you spend. Again, make sure you fully understand the terms - why use the card if you aren’t going to gain anything?