Credit Card Rewards Are Disappearing

Not too long ago when the economy was charging full steam ahead, banks offered exceptional rewards on their credit cards… but not anymore. Today, the rewards have shrunk and some have even tacked on annual fees.

Shorter Balance Transfer Periods
Remember when it was possible to get 0% for 15 months? Unfortunately those deals are long gone. Even the best balance transfer credit card is still a bad deal – it charges an unfair 5% balance transfer fee and the zero percent interest period is rather short.

Less Cash Back On Purchases
Just a few years ago, there used to be several cards on the market that gave 3% to 5% cash back on gas, groceries, and other categories of spending. However those cards have disappeared from the market and instead been replaced with very unrewarding cards like the Chase Sapphire (which carries a high annual fee and extremely low cash back).

More Miles Required For Reward Tickets
It used to be that 25,000 frequent flyer miles was enough to get you a roundtrip ticket. Today that number of miles won’t get you very far. For example, Discover Miles card is one popular choice, but many cardmembers complain that they need to accumulate a ridiculous number of miles just to have enough for a ticket.

Conclusion
Simply put, credit cards aren’t what they used to be. With less enticing rewards and new fees, they’re no longer the money saving instruments they once were.