A rundown on rewards programs

There are a lot of things to consider when looking for a credit card: what interest rates are available, which one is accepted more widely, which has the coolest design. All legitimate concerns.
One thing that is often overlooked, however, is the rewards programs the card issuer offers. While it may seem like a frivolous thing to worry about, when rates and other factors of cards are similar, it can be used as a decision maker in the case of a tie.

Visa: This company is one of the most prolific card issuers in the word. If you have a debt card, chances are it's a form of Visa card. When it comes to rewards, though, this credit giant falls way short.
The program Visa offers is called Visa Extras, and is simple enough: spend a dollar, get a point. Most programs look like this. Yet when it comes to redeeming the points, the rewards are ridiculously high priced. The cheapest reward, a $4 Visa gift card, is valued at 2,000 points. That's twenty Benjamins for four bucks.
Even if you sign up for its premium membership by having multiple cards, you only get double points. Meaning, thanks to Visa, you can secure those four dollars for a measly grand!
It's worth signing up for if you already have a Visa card-it's free. But going for Visa for their rewards program is like moving to Siberia for the sunshine.

American Express: This slightly wordier card provider makes up in rewards programs for what they lack in name brevity. While their system is similar to Visa's (one point per dollar), their rewards are much more reasonably priced. Usually, a dollars worth of rewards will cost you a hundred points, meaning a point is about a penny. While that may not seem like much, often you can get double points, and up to ten times the points with certain partners.
These points can also be translated to miles, and certain cards will give introductory bonuses of thousands of points. While AMEX charges a yearly membership fee for most of their cards, the rewards and other services the company provides are well worth the cost. It's like joining the Italian mafia; while getting in might cost you, once you're in, you're family.

Discover: While not a super popular card, Discover has one of the best rewards programs out there. Instead of dealing with ethereal "points," Discover just gives percents of purchases. You get 1 percent most purchases, and 5 percent on whatever that month's special happens to be, whether it's restaurants, gas, groceries, or something else along those lines. Not only that, but when you go to use the Cashback Rewards Program they have, Discover tosses some more money in for you. Order a gift card for $20 and get one worth $25. Spent $90 on a Home Depot gift card? Get one worth a hundred instead. This is by far one of the easiest and most giving reward programs out there.

While reward programs might seem like a fluffy thing to consider when comparing cards, remember: the credit card companies are already making money off the interest from your card. Might as well squeeze a free gift card or two out of them.

-Kyle McDaniel