Charity Credit Cards
Choose one of the numerous charity credit cards on the market and you’ll be donating to a good cause as you spend.
More from Types of Credit Cards
7 January 2009
Charity Credit Cards
The ways to make your charity credit card really work is to shop around for the best rate and providers’ donations.”
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Keeping up the good work
The perceived wisdom about charity credit cards is that even though the intentions of the product are good, the annual percentage rates are not always favourable and nor is the proportion of donation.
Nevertheless, using a charity card can be a consistent way to give money to your favourite cause, especially if you are always meaning to make a one-off donation but never get around to it.
Every little helps
Typically, the card provider will pay the charity a sum of money, anything from £5-£20 when you open the card and then an additional percentage of your spending. This ranges from around 0.25% or 0.4% of each purchase made or it can be a set figure such as 30p for each £100 you spend.
Some cards also pay the charity an additional £2 each year you continue to carry the card. So if you spend £400 a month and your provider paid 0.4% on this sum of money, your charity would receive £19.20 a year plus a possible £2 extra if you continue to use the card.
Look at donating in a different way
There are other ways to use different types of credit cards and still donate to charity. For instance if you use a cashback card that gives a good rate on your spending, when you receive it simply donate some, or all of it to your favourite charity. If you do it through Gift Aid your money will go even further, as Gift Aid treats donations as if the donor had already deducted basic rate tax from them. The charity can reclaim this tax to increase the value of a donation.
Ethical Credit
The way to make your charity credit card really work is to shop around for the best rate and most generous donation. You can then combine this with using another card such as a cashback card and make your own further contribution from the cash you receive and make real a difference.
Charity cards exist so why not use them. Continuous spending and small regular donations are better than no support at all.
