Donate The Smart Way With A Charity Credit Card

By Author: Michael Strauss
Total Articles: 432
Comment this article

Americans are suckers for a really good charity. It's somewhat surprising that one of the most capitalist nations on earth is also one of the most magnanimous. This is true testimony to the heart of the American people.

One novel way for people to provide for charitable causes amidst their consumer driven spending is by using an Affinity 'Charity' Credit Card. Introduced in the 80's, the card can be issued in two different formats.

The first format is a card which is made available by arrangement between a business and the financial institution providing the card. The business then sells the card and can make a profit off of it which is about less than a cent per dollar. The card then can be sold through the businesses.

The second way is for the financial institution to directly provide the card right to the card holder.

The cards are quite easily identifiable, and will often sport the logo of the charity it promotes, as well as a picture that is usually associated with that charity's cause. (I.E., Animals for P.E.T.A., children for Unicef, etc.)

There are some negative issues associated with ...
... the cards which have drawn much attention in the past. Many card providers are conscious of this and are making great efforts towards adjusting those problems. One of the first issues is that the contribution made by the card provider to the charity is usually minuscule by comparison to regular donation gifts. In addition, exceedingly high interest rates and late fees could actually have been made as a regular contribution with far fewer fusses.

One of the smartest ways to help your charity is by actually using your card to make an outright donation to them, so that instead of getting a fractional portion of a dollar, the charity's actually making a bonus on each dollar. Many card providers will also match a donation up to a certain fixed amount.

And since the Affinity Credit Card is created to benefit the charity and not the card holder, there are some things to consider when evaluating your personal expectations concerning the card. First, you should be personally committed to the charity represented by the card, and not just view your transaction as 'a charitable notion'.

Also, these cards are not tax-deductible. There are not many benefits or perks available on many of these cards, though many card providers are trying to change this. Perhaps the greatest perk of all, though, is the charitable cause's provision through an Affinity Credit Card.

About the author: Michael writes for http://www.cardsense.co.uk/ and you can read more about charity credit cards at http://www.cardsense.co.uk/charity-credit-cards.html