Charity Credit Cards - Doing Your Bit

How would you like to help out your favourite charity by taking advantage of that great sale at Harrods? With a charity credit card, you can do exactly that. Charity credit cards, also known as affinity credit cards, are regular credit cards UK charities and special interests issue in conjunction with a financial institution. Those 'charities' range from children's aid societies to your favourite football club. How do you get in on the action?

You'll find offers and applications from many of the most well-know charity credit cards at moneyeverything.com, where you can compare credit card rates and fees as well as any 'rewards' programs offered. In essence, a charity credit card IS a reward card - a cashback card with the cashback going to the charity to which it is linked. Using a charity credit card is a painless way of giving to your favourite causes.

Because of this, you'll find that most charity credit card offers have mid-range APRs, like other reward credit cards UK finance companies offer to the public. That means that you're best off using your charity credit card for those everyday expenses that you'll pay off in full each month. That keeps your interest charges low while still putting cash into the till of your favourite charity. How effective is charity credit card giving? Here are a few statistics to chew on:

1. The credit card UK charity organization Sight Savers offers will donate £15 for every approved application - and an additional £2.50 when you've been using the card for a year. That alone is enough to pay for an adult cataract operation and save someone's sight. The UK charity credit card doesn't stop there though - they donate 25p for every £100 spent on your card to Sight Savers - enough to protect two people from river blindness.
2. According to APACS, consumers charged more than £9.7 billion on credit cards in February of 2005. If .025% of that was donated to charity (the rate for the Sight Savers charity credit card), that would have been £242 million donated to charity in that one month alone.
3. According to a Mintel report, transactions made on a charity credit card totalled £3.3 billion in the year 2000. That accounts for millions in charitable donations from credit card companies.

Not all affinity credit cards are charity credit cards. Many support avocations or hobbies, like those that are branded by football clubs. The proceeds from those - sometimes called loyalty cards - directly benefit the local football club whose emblem the card bears. And more and more local charities are hooking up with major credit card providers to co-brand a credit card to link to their churches, clubs and fraternal organisations.

If you're interested in doing your bit to help your favourite causes - without putting a further strain on your own wallet - a charity credit card is a good way to go. You'll find listings for many charity credit cards at moneyeverything.com. As always, it's important to compare rates and benefits of the credit cards UK companies offer. You can get all the information that you need at moneyeverything.com, your source for credit card information and advice.