These Credit Cards Offer Big Savings for New Homeowners

Buying a house is expensive at the best of times -- and these aren't exactly the best of times. Between high home prices and high mortgage rates, just purchasing your new home can be a lot. Then you have to pay to move all your stuff into it, pay to zhuzh it up, and pay to fix all those things that will inevitably need to be fixed.

In other words, even the best-prepared new homeowners can use all the deals and savings they can find. It also helps time-crunched homeowners if the savings are easy.

Credit card rewards offer both: You can get a good return with very little effort. Check out these cards to see what I mean.

1. Citi Custom Cash® Card

The Citi Custom Cash® Card can be a boon for new homeowners throughout the process. Use it to earn up to 5% back on travel while you house shop. Then, another month, get up to 5% back on gas while you move. And once you're in? Get up to 5% back on home improvements.

How can one card do so much? The Citi Custom Cash® Card earns 5% cash back on up to $500 in purchases each month in your top spending category. You don't have to activate anything, either; Citi automatically figures out your top category and rewards you accordingly.

The one drawback is that you need to be cognizant of the spending cap. Once you hit that $500 in bonus spending, you'll earn just 1% cash back on additional bonus category purchases.

2. U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card

This is one of my all-time favorite rewards cards. Why? The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card lets you choose your own 5% cash back categories. And yes, it's plural; you get two 5% categories that you can choose every quarter.

The list of options is long, but some of my favorites for new homeowners include:

• Home utilities
• Electronics stores
• Furniture stores
• Department stores

The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card caps your bonus cash back at the first $2,000 per quarter. You'll need to choose your categories every quarter to activate the bonus rate.

3. Cards with awesome 0% intro APR offers

As a new homeowner myself, I know very well how many extra unexpected expenses can pop up. (Oh, the joy of buying a new furnace six months in…) Putting those expenses on a card with a 0% intro APR offer can give you much-needed breathing room.

The best intro APR offers will give you at least 15 months of 0% APR on purchases. This means you can spread out a large purchase over more than a year without worrying about expensive interest fees.

Our list of intro 0% APR credit cards is an excellent place to find some great offers.

4. Any card with a good welcome bonus

Between moving, painting, decorating, and fixing, there is a lot of money that gets spent right after a home is purchased. (Just putting new cabinet knobs in the kitchen can easily run $100-plus!) A rewards card with a good welcome bonus can turn all of that spending into extra cash.

For example, right after I closed on my home, I opened a new cash back card that offered me $200 for spending $1,000. One moving truck later, I'd neatly earned that $200 in cash back.

Pro tip: Worried about opening a new card when you just got -- or are about to get -- a mortgage? If you own a business, consider looking for some good small business credit cards. They can have awesome welcome bonuses, and most won't impact your personal credit (other than a hard pull when you apply).

Don't forget issuer portals

This tip applies to any purchase, really, but it could be extra helpful when moving, fixing, or furnishing: Use the issuer portals. Most credit card issuers have offer or deals portals where they provide discounts and rebates for popular retailers.

I've seen these offers include everything from restaurants to furniture stores. My Chase credit cards, for instance, even have offers for independent local restaurants in my new town. That's a good incentive to get out and explore the local offerings.

Credit cards can be a great tool, especially when you're a new homeowner. Hopefully this inspires you to see how your cards can help with your new home.