A lot of folks feel they couldn't possibly spend enough to earn many reward points. Here are a few ideas to help you charge more. These are all things that we do regularly. Some are even charged automatically each month.
Auto insurance, local - long distance - and cell phone bills, home alarm service, internet access, professional society dues, religious/private school tuition, groceries, gasoline, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, US Savings Bond purchases (good investment plus bonus points), EZPass charges, plus all the usual purchases like clothing, dining and general shopping.
We charge everything we possibly can to one of our reward point credit cards. In less than a year, we have earned nearly 60,000 Marriott points (partly from charges, partly from hotel stays). We also have an AOL Visa card and have earned enough points that we have not had to pay a penny for AOL service for about 6 or 7 years since we got the card.
Of course, we ALWAYS pay off the full balance each month when the bill comes. If you can't afford to do this, DON"T USE A CREDIT CARD! Paying interest for even one month erases the value of any reward points. But if you can use your card to pay bills you would be paying anyway, like the things listed above, you can benefit greatly.
Happy charging,
Steve