Shopping is, undoubtedly, a nice activity. Kind of a hobby. It gives a great amount of satisfaction. It is even greater satisfaction when you can use your credit card reward programs to the fullest. Credit card reward programs are aimed at making you enjoy your life and, especially, shopping.

I felt really excited every time I was offered a store card service. I never wanted to miss out on wonderful promotions and tried to be involved, certainly. I got that store credit card of my favorite store! I have been using the card for several years until I started experiencing some financial problems. Now let me tell you the way the story went...

Suddenly monthly bills turned out hard to be paid. My income remained the same. It is only when I got in touch with the financial counselor that I have found the source of my troubles. It was by no means a sad revelation for me.

It is later that I found out that lots of people find themselves in the similar situations. They use store credit cards and never think that this may have some consequences. It may sound weird, but every year retail outlets get millions from interest on those store cards! How in the world does that happen?!

I studied some of my latest monthly payments. All the excess interest just shocked me! I couldn't believe my eyes! But... This whole situation wouldn't have happened if I paid all of my bills on time. The thing is that the amount of my purchases was really big. My salary wouldn't allow me to pay bills full and on time. I had to pay high interest after the grace period. Retailers have been making money because of that high interest. What did I need to do?

First of all, I needed to cut down on my purchases. Then - get rid of most of my store credit cards. It seemed hardly impossible. I had to search for some other ways out. Luckily, I found one.

From my financial counselor I have learnt about co-branded credit cards. These cards are connected with stores and credit card companies at the same time. Such credit cards can be used anywhere where credit cards are accepted. Moreover, a customer can earn points by making purchases even outside the store! This fact made me happy as I enjoy shopping in different places, actually.

Co-branded cards have much lower interest rates than store credit cards. But - co-branded cards are somewhat harder to get. They are issued by such serious companies as American Express and Visa, therefore, a serious credit history check is required. Luckily, I still had an ok credit card history.

Now (having had my pathetic experience with store credit cards) I am planning to switch to co-branded cards. I have also decided to keep constant track of my account. I know that I will not give up on shopping. And never, never, never again will I be late on any payment!