Compare our best reward and cashback credit cards

With a rewards credit card every £1 you spend on the card earns you points that you can later redeem for a range of rewards such as free flights, airport lounge access, supermarket points, shopping vouchers and even cash paid back to you.

They can do this because of the way credit cards work.

Every time you buy something with a card, the network provider - Mastercard, Visa or American Express - gets a small fee for sorting out the payment.

With rewards cards, the provider splits that with you - using its buying power to get deals with major firms like Sainsbury’s and British Airways.

The best reward credit cards might require you to spend a minimum amount on your card each year to qualify for the perks. They might also charge an annual fee. So it’s best to work out if you’ll be spending enough to qualify for the rewards, and whether you’re gaining enough to justify the annual fee.

If you’re spending enough and are able to pay off your balance in full each month, reward credit cards can be a great way to access a range of benefits without paying any interest.

However, if you’re someone with existing credit card debt or you’re not confident you’ll be able to pay off what you’ve borrowed in full each month, these might not be the right cards for you.

An air miles credit card is designed to reward your spending by giving you airline points. The more you spend on your air miles credit card, the more points you’ll get.

You can then exchange the points for discounts on the price of your flights or upgrades. Depending on which air miles credit card you have, you’ll be able to earn points for flights on different airlines.

Supermarkets are well established in the credit card market and Tesco and Sainsbury’s lead the field.

These cards offer the most points for spending in 'home' shops - so the supermarket itself as well as linked retailers, for example the Sainsbury's card will also boost your points for purchases at Argos.

As well as using these cards for your groceries, you can also use them to collect rewards, in the form of Nectar or Clubcard points, on other purchases you make on the card at other retailers.

They’re not the only supermarkets with credit cards, however, as M&S and John Lewis also offer rewards for spending.

The most straightforward type of rewards card is a cashback credit card.

Cashback cards give you back a percentage of what you spend, which might be added to your account once a year or more frequently.

American Express (Amex) usually offers the best cashback cards in the market and the best reward credit cards in general, although it’s not accepted in as many places as Visa and Mastercard.

There are things to watch out for though.

Firstly, these cards often come with an introductory bonus, where you earn more cashback in the first few months after you get them.

They also often work on a tiered basis, where how much cashback you get depends on how much you spend on the card.

Finally, watch out for annual fees. You could end up paying a hefty charge on the card which could outweigh any benefit you get from using it. Approach cards charging fees with caution.

The secret to getting the best out of a rewards card is to make sure you know what's on offer.

For example, lots of cards come with introductory bonuses, where the points ramp up if you spend a certain amount, in a certain store, within a certain time.

Miss out on that target and you could see how much you get back seriously affected.

Bonuses aside, many cards pay far more for spending in certain shops - with supermarket cards often increasing rewards for spending in store. If you have the option to pay in more than one way, getting this right can also boost your rewards.

But, more importantly, never spend more than you can afford to repay that month in the hunt for reward points.

Doing that is a losing game, with a few more points here and there almost never making up for missed payments, interest charges and the damage to a credit score that can result from spending more than you can afford to repay.