Inflation has made most of us rethink our spending.
Bloomberg reported there were 537 million credit card accounts in the first quarter, an increase of 31 million over the past year, per the Fed’s quarterly report on household debt and credit in New York.
This alludes that more Americans are relying on credit to carry them through challenging financial times as experts continue to predict a looming recession.
WalletHub, a financial platform, is saying that not only are users leaning on credit cards more to finance their daily living expenses, but to also sweeten deals with rewards points.
Their new report found that 4 in 5 people said inflation has made them more interested in earning credit card rewards. They also pointed out that the summer travel season has more people applying for rewards based cards than ever.
The report analyzed the top credit cards with consideration to their reward offerings.
According to the report, Capital One has the best credit card rewards program for the seventh year in a row, earning an average WalletHub score of 92%. They pointed out that “the best rewards credit card can yield up to $1,204 more than the worst rewards card over the first two years.” WalletHub also stated that redeeming credit card rewards for travel is the best deal, yielding 12% more value than merchandise, the worst option.
Additionally, WalletHub analyzed that Capital One and Fifth Third Bank have the best rewards-earning policies, with no earning limits and no loss of rewards if you miss a payment.
The full report can be found here.