In this current economy, many people are looking for non traditional ways to make money and avoid spending, or at least get rewarded for the spending that you need to do. This makes cash back credit cards quite appealing for some. Although you can’t make a great deal of money, you can make enough to cover your interest, making credit something far easier to manage. So how do you make money from your credit card, you ask? The answer is a simple 5 step process:

1. Step 1: Finding The Right Credit Card – The first step in making money off of your credit card is to actually get one.  If you have one already, you’ll want to check the benefits associated and make sure that the restrictions for your "cash back perk" are loose.  If they are not, contact your credit card company and ask them if there’s any chance to improve your benefits package.  If you don’t have a credit card with cash rewards yet, then it’s best to choose a card that provides more than 1% cash rewards on purchases that fit your lifestyle.

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I am really going to date myself but I remember when we took a loan application, and asked the borrower, "How’s your credit?’ They would tell us I few late payments here and there. I’d ask if there were any late mortgage payments, (the kiss of death back then) any bankruptcies, no. Then I was good to go.

I would write the loan, and then order a credit report. I would have to wait for it to arrive snail mail! Then they invented a machine that the credit bureaus would set up in your office and they would send your credit reports over this machine. It would take 24-48 hours. We thought this was great! No scores, just a borrowers credit would show up. The borrower would then be asked to write a letter of explanation for any late payments, judgments, or inquires on their report.

An underwriter would weigh all things out and determine borrowers credit worthiness. Were they one-time events that were isolated issues, or was there a pattern of historical late payments? It was a human’s decision to determine the borrower’s risk factor not a machine.

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