Well, technically not nothing.
More and more banks are giving rewards to customers to hold on to their credit cards. This came as more and more people sign up for new cards only to ditch these cards as soon as new cards with new rewards pop up.
Instead of chasing plenty of unfaithful customers, banks are working on a way to deepen their current relationships with their current clients.
“Loyalty has been the slow boat when it comes to credit card rewards,” said Matt Schulz, chief industry analyst at CompareCards.com. “Now we’ve seen a few cards include ongoing bonuses for cardholders to keep using their card.”
For instance, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card is offering 7,500 points for every additional one year anniversary clients are sharing with the card. A Barclays’ travel card doesn’t offer any sign-up bonuses. But what it does offer is up to 25,000 bonus miles every year after spending a certain amount.
Even the Bank of America has a card that offers a 25% increase in rewards to customers that have at least $20,000 in one of their banking accounts (or in a Merrill Lynch investment account). A 50% rewards bump is given if you have a $50,000 balance and a 75% increase in rewards for $100,000. This means earnings of 3.5 points per dollar spent on travel and dining.
With the reward point offerings for loyalty, banks will have more customers who will be willing to hold on to their cards. Not only that, this spells good news for existing customers that don’t want to bother with constantly hunting down the best credit card offers or having to come up with different strategies every time they open their wallet.
Some 40% of Americans have said that they have stuck to the same card in over a decade, according to a recent survey by creditcards.com.
But having these rewards in your card doesn’t mean you don’t have to do anything. For starters, you may want to read the fine print on your credit card reward guidelines to know of certain stipulations have been attached to the reward offerings. These stipulations may include spending certain amounts with annual fees that still need to be paid. This might mean having to check if the card is compatible with your own spending habits to make sure you are able to meet the minimum spending amounts required by the credit card.
“No one should overspend on a credit card just for rewards,” he said. “These offers are a big deal because it shows that banks are beginning to grasp a fundamental reality of the credit card space: People don’t change their credit cards very often. These cards show the beginning of a gradual shift towards that idea.”