Wanting a hassle-free way to donate to charity? Charity credit cards offer reward points every time you use your credit card, and then give that cash-back to charity.
But we found you need to do some research if you want to make the most of your donation.
“The Susan G Komen charity card is a big one out there and it’s an example of a bank working with a charity to specifically promote that particular charity and it will even give you a little bit of a bonus after you spend a certain amount on that card,” said Matt Shultz with CreditCards.com.
There are some cards that are specific to certain charities like Bank of American’s Susan G. Komen credit card. “Then there are other cards like Charity Charge by Master Card which gives you 1 percent cash back on everything you spend," said Shultz.
The Charity Charge credit card will take 1 percent cash back and put it toward the charity of your choice. But, Shultz said not all charity credit cards give the same way.
“When you’re considering getting a charity credit card make sure you understand how much value you’re going to get back and how much money will be donated to that charity,” said Shultz.
You need to find out exactly how much money from your purchases gets donated to the charity and how that money is being used at the charity.
“Charity credit cards can be worth it but a lot of the time you are really better off getting a general purpose credit card that might give you 2 percent cash back on everything you buy and then you can take that cash back that you earn and write that to your charity," said Shultz.
If you decide to take that route and skip the charity credit card all together, Schultz recommends the Chase Freedom Card. It will give you more money cash back then your charity credit card reward points would be donating.
“When you’re looking to donate to a charity it’s not really about making things as convenient for you it’s about getting things done and raising money for the charity that you believe so much in,” said Shultz.
In the end, Shultz said if giving the most amount of money to a charity is important, look at getting a traditional credit card and mailing the cash back money to the charity yourself.