If you don’t have a rewards credit card that provides you with points towards travel, gift certificates, and/or other items, you may be missing out on some great value. Reward credit cards with credit card points, when used responsibly, can offer some truly great perks to members. Rewards may differ from card to card and can include everything from cash back to gas cards, gift cards, hotel stays, and even bigger-ticket items, such as airline and concert tickets!
There were approximately 631 million open credit card accounts in the U.S. as of Q1 2025, well over the previous year’s total, according to the Center for Microeconomic Data Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. Most Americans have at least one credit card, with many having several. According to Experian, U.S. consumers have an average of 3.9 credit cards in their wallets. If you’re using your credit card anyway, you might as well look for a way to maximize the rewards you’ll get when you charge with your card. In other words, make your card work harder for you.
UChoose Credit Card Rewards
The overwhelming number of credit cards out there can make it challenging to choose the best card for you. So, allow us to make it easier.
At Choice One in Wilkes-Barre, we offer our members two valuable VISA credit card options to fit your busy lifestyle: Platinum or Classic. Since it’s backed by VISA, they’re accepted virtually everywhere. Plus, both credit cards, as well as our debit cards, feature UChoose, a reward system where points earned from purchases can be used for thousands of products, travel options, gift cards, event tickets, and more, at an extensive list of national, regional, local, and online retailers. The possibilities are endless!
You may also have the option of cash back and can combine points earned on both credit and debit cards for even faster rewards. UChoose is based on giving cardholders a choice of where to shop and what to get for all the points they earn. UChoose offers so many options for redeeming points that it’s sure to satisfy just about any credit card holder out there. It also makes it simple to redeem earned points. Once you’ve registered your cards and earned your points, you can look through an extensive online catalog to redeem points as well. Unlike some other cards, and because of the wide variety of offerings, you don’t have to wait forever to cash in those points. There are choices at all different point/cost levels, etc. The choice is yours.
VISA Balance Transfer Credit Card
Choice One’s VISA balance transfer credit cards enable you to transfer the balances of higher interest rate cards to a lower rate card with no transfer fees. It’s designed to help you save. Transfer balances from higher interest cards and earn credit card points as you save on interest.
Applying for a Credit Card? What’s Your Reward?
First of all, be sure the credit card you apply for has a competitive interest rate. It’s not worth the points if the interest rate is sky high. The Choice One VISA Card is an excellent option with will provide you with credit card points.
It’s best for your budget if you pay off the credit card balance in full each month, so you won’t have to worry about any interest at all. The trick to selecting the best credit card offer for you is to find one with rewards that best fit your needs. For instance, you don’t want a rewards credit card that only gives you air miles if you don’t like to fly. Most importantly, if you get a rewards credit card, be sure you use those rewards. Did you know that a significant number of credit card holders never redeem their rewards? Ya, we know, crazy, right? Believe it or not, it happens all the time. Whether it’s a complicated redemption process or just procrastination on the part of the cardholder, and the points expire, it’s a waste of hard-earned rewards. Why have a rewards card in the first place if you’re not going to cash in the points? You know the old saying, “Use it or lose it!”
Too Much of a Good Thing
We all get inundated with credit card offers every day, via social media, phone, and by mail. Many have offers of big rewards up front, but they never tell you the pitfalls of having too many credit cards. Fortunately, we aren’t like them. We’re here to enlighten.
Five Reasons to Limit the Number of Credit Cards You Have
1 Applying for Too Many Cards at Once Can Limit Your Credit Score
Applying for multiple credit cards in a short period of time can lower your credit score significantly. It shortens your length of credit history and also adds too many hard inquiries to your credit report. When it comes to credit cards, age does matter. The age of your credit history, that is. Creditors prefer a long, stable history, and too many new cards can detract from that. While many of us do have a variety of credit cards that we’ve accumulated over our adult lifetime, if you’re using several cards responsibly and paying off the monthly balance each month, you can be helping your credit. That’s different than going out this weekend and applying for five different credit cards all at once. Spot the difference? Opening and closing accounts quickly, just to take advantage of sign-up point offers, will generally hurt your credit, as will too many hard inquiries. If you already have numerous cards, use them wisely; otherwise, stick to one.
2 Temptation to Overspend on Credit Cards
This is a biggie. If you have a wallet full of credit cards, it means you have lots of open credit. Are the credit card rewards worth it? The temptation to over-charge may be too great. You may quickly find yourself with a pile of credit card debt that you just can’t pay off in a reasonable amount of time. Just like opening too many cards at once, large debt will not help your credit score. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep your credit utilization (aka the percentage of how much you’ve charged to how much available credit you have) to under 30%. Anything over that is excessive and will negatively impact your credit score.
3 Too Many Credit Cards Can Lead to Missed Payments
The majority of your FICO score is determined by payment history and credit utilization. Paying on time is a primary factor in keeping a good credit score. When you are trying to juggle 5 or 10 credit cards, and you aren’t organized, you might start to miss payments. Missed payments will lower your credit score. And usually, not by a mere few points, either. You need to pay on time all the time. Better yet, pay off those balances in full each month, and see that score soar higher and higher. We can’t stress this enough.
4 Fees, Fees, and More Fees
Many points credit cards charge annual fees. BOO! Exactly how much are those fees impacting the value of having all those cards? Are you getting the benefit of the rewards of any one card in particular when spreading your spending so thin? Probably not. Worse yet, the annual fees are on top of that. The sad truth is, you may be losing money carrying all those cards. You should have a card in your wallet with no annual fee. For example, a Choice One Credit Union Classic or Platinum VISA card, which not only offers great rewards, but you guessed it, no annual fee! #winwin
5 The Risk of Credit Card Fraud
The more cards you have, the more at risk you likely are. Not to scare anyone, but applying for many credit cards puts your sensitive data on many different databases, and sadly, as we’ve seen in large data breaches, they aren’t always the most secure. The last thing you want is for your information to be in a giant well for hackers and identity thieves to pull from.
To get the biggest bang for your buck, you’re better off sticking to just one reward card. If you already have a reward credit card, ensure the rewards on it are right for you. Don’t forget to cash in on them either. Don’t let them sit dormant and expire; otherwise, what’s the point? If you’re not sure how to redeem them, simply call your credit card company and ask. You can also read the fine print in your cardholder agreement regarding your rewards, including the point conversion rate, point expiration information, and other important rules. Lastly, keep track of changes in terms, such as getting fewer points for spending, etc., to avoid any nasty shocks down the line.
Shopping Around for a Card with Some Great Credit Card Points?
If you’re in the market for a new reward credit card, shop around before you apply for a credit card to see what’s best for you! We love our Classic and Platinum VISAs with UChoose rewards, but it’s your choice!
Either way, you choose, you can’t go wrong with maximizing your spending with a rewards credit card. Get in the habit of using your card for your everyday expenses and more, so you can build up those rewards and cash in them for some sweet rewards sooner rather than later.
Do you live, work, worship, attend school, or have a business entity in Luzerne, Lackawanna, or Wyoming Counties? Then you are eligible for membership at Choice One. The best part is that, once you’re a member, your immediate family can also join, regardless of whether they meet the above criteria or not. Interested? Tap here to learn more about membership or to download a membership application today!
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Learn the importance of a low-rate credit card in our blog, “The Great Escape: Fleeing High-Interest Rates.”