Go Green With Eco-Friendly Reward Credit Cards
What’s better than getting something back on your credit card offers? Getting a chance to help save the environment while you’re at it, too. Consumers worried about their carbon footprints can find reward cards that help them either reduce the cost of their energy demands or provide incentives for eco-friendly products and services. If you really want to give back to your community, you can also donate your rewards to green charities that will put your money to good use. Check out how you can use a rewards card to create the values in your community that will guarantee that everyone gets a green deal.
Rewards that cut your electricity and gas costs
Some reward credit cards offer cash back incentives that can be applied directly to your electricity or gas supplier, as long as they are partners with the card. This does not reduce your carbon footprint, but it reduces the strain on your wallet during the worst of the winter months. If you want to really reduce usage with a rewards credit card, then you can opt to get a car that gives you air miles and fly away for the worst of the season to a warmer climate. That strategy will definitely work to lower your consumption.
Shopping rewards for green products and services
Whether you use points or shopping rewards to get vouchers for products and services, you can opt to use them only on green products. If you get a card that already has some affiliation with a green ethos, you can be sure they will be sending you offers for their products and services more than conventional ones. You can even double those green points by upgrading your appliances to more energy-efficient models using a rewards credit card. Then, if you are offered a voucher or points for products and services, redeem it for more eco-friendly items.
Other ways to get green with your rewards card
Cards that are affiliated with non-profits or environmental groups often fund these groups as well. These are called affinity cards and are usually branded with the organisation’s logo. By using a card issued by that organisation, some of the fees return to it and can be used to help support its functions. Donations to the organisations are also facilitated by the use of credit cards as they are the easiest way to donate online. In fact, the use of credit cards, whether rewards or standard issue cards, has been one of the major reasons more charitable organisations have been able to increase their donation levels. If you get a card associated with a green mission, then you will be helping them in more than one way. Some cards in different nations already allow you to send your rewards directly to an organisation of your choice. However, even with cash back, you can decide to use those monies to help support your favourite green company or charity.
Small strategies to keep the carbon footprint low
Instead of opting for paper statements from your credit cards, you can go paperless and save some trees. It’s not always about the rewards. It’s also about how you use them. Recycle old cards instead of throwing them out and putting them in a landfill. Just remember to cut them up before they’re used in artwork or children’s projects. Use the rewards cards to patronize environmentally-friendly businesses or those that are aligned with those values to make sure they get to remain market forces. If you can’t find a rewards credit card that offers some green deals as part of their package, you can always opt for a standard card that is issued from a bank or lender that has promoted environmentally-friendly agendas to show your support. While other countries may be ahead of the game on the types of promotions available with green reward credit cards, there are many ways to give to the causes that interest you without a particular affinity card or rewards program associated with green ideals. It’s really up to you. You can make any card you own a green card because eventually by spending where these values are important, you show your loyalty and help these places to survive and thrive in the conventional economy.
Reference:
Nasdaq (2013) 10 Ways to go green with credit cards. Available at: nasdaq.com/personal-finance/go-green-credit-cards.stm (Accessed 10 Oct 2013).
