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Credit scores are one of the most important numbers in our financial lives. That seemingly innocuous three-digit number impacts nearly every financial decision we make, from securing a low mortgage rate and qualifying for credit cards with premier perks to your auto insurance premium. It even matters when signing a new agreement with your mobile carrier. These are a few reasons why we Fools are steadfast advocates of having good credit scores.
With this in mind, The Motley Fool analysts Michael Douglass and Nathan Hamilton answer a user-submitted question in the video below about what cardholders with excellent credit can expect out of their credit cards.
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Douglass: Our next question comes from Roger S. Thank you, Roger. "I've built my credit up over the years and now have excellent credit. I'm recently looking into cashback and travel cards. What should I look for, and what kind of rewards can I expect?" First off, Roger, we don't have too many specifics about your situation, so we can't say, "Because of this, you should get that." But, generally speaking, the sort of cards I'd be looking at are cashback in the 1.5-2% range, that's usually the standard for a pretty good credit score.
Hamilton: Yeah. Good to excellent credit for cashback cards, if you're looking at a flat rate card, yes, you're going to be 1.5-2%, should be your expectation, and you should also expect that can come without an annual fee. As you go to some of the more premium cards, be it in the travel category and so forth, you're going to be looking at, for travel purchases, anywhere from 2-5% back on your travel purchases. Now, there's all sorts of different qualifications. Some have caps, some don't have caps, some have various annual fees. But, there are cards for less than $100 for the annual fee that 2-3% on travel purchases is fairly normal. But, the remainder of those purchases are going to be 1%, or maybe even lower for your overall yield.
Douglass: Yeah. That's how to think through what the best of breed cards in those areas will look like.
