There is a very good introduction on point (rewards) cards on Yahoo finance.
Even better the tips at the end of the article:
Before you sign up, remember:
Spend within your means.
Points are great, but they’re not worth it if you’re taking on debt.
The key is to find a card with terms and rewards that best fit your lifestyle.
So shop around. It can really be worth your while.
The cards I recommend
Some cards I recommend to get and keep, both for opening bonus and daily spend promotion bonus.
Chase Freedom: it has an offer of $150 cash back for new cardholder spending $500 in first 3 months. I’m doing a referral (both of us will get $50 from Chase, via 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points). Note Freedom card has no annual fee, the kicker for Chase Freedom is 5% bonus category for each quarter (gas, restaurant, wholesale club etc.)
Discover Card: Discover Cash Bonus Card has quarterly category 5%, and it has $50 if I refer a friend. Note you will also get $50 from Discover too. Just let me know (see email below). For 2017 Discover has 5% cashback at Wholesale club (Sam’s Club) in Q1 and Q2. Other rotational categories include gas for Q1, and home improvement for Q2.
I can also do referral for Chase Sapphire Preferred, and Amex Blue Cash Preferred. Email me for more details. Note personally I have all the cards I recommend.
My email is minjie dot xu at gmail dot com. Drop me an email and I will send you the link to apply.
Also, I maintain a page on credit card at stlplace.com