Designing your own credit card

One of the main ways to take advantage of special interest credit cards is to design your own credit card. These kinds of credit cards allow you to design your own features, as well as pick designs for the card itself that allow you to proclaim your allegiance. If you like a particular sports team, it is possible for you to get a credit card that bears the logo. You can show your support for your alma mater, the kind of animals you like or even your hobbies. In addition to having some preset templates that you can use to personalize your credit card, it is also possible to upload your own photos. This means your credit card could bear an image of your child, or your pet.

Another aspect of designing your own credit card comes in terms of the benefits and features. It is possible to create special interest credit cards that have these features, chosen by you:

    Rewards programs. It is possible to choose your own rewards program. You can decide whether you want cash back, travel rewards or some other type of reward. You can decide if you want merchandise, or choose specific promotions and discounts as part of your card account.

    Payment options. Many special interest credit cards allow you to choose your payment options. If you have more money flexibility on the 20th of the month, it is possible to choose that as your due date. Other credit card companies may let you choose what kind of billing options you have.

Other features. There are other features of special interest credit cards that you can choose as well. From deciding what kind of emails you get to how your account page looks when you log in, there are many different ways to make your credit card truly personal.

Donating to others

This is another way that special interest credit cards can work for you. There are many cards that are issued as a way to help different charitable organizations. It is possible to get a card that donates to AIDS research, or to the World Wildlife Fund. There are even special interest credit cards that allow you to specify a charity. These types of credit cards work by doing one of two things:

1. Donating a percentage of your purchases to the charity.
2. Allowing you to earn rewards and donate those to charity.

It is important to note that the tax benefits of these charitable credit cards may not be as straightforward as other donations. Therefore, it is a good idea to check with an experienced and knowledgeable tax specialist in order to find out what sort of things you can used for tax benefit.

You can also get special interest credit cards that are attached to schools. Many universities team up with credit card issuers to raise money for scholarship funds and other necessary items. These types of cards can help you show school pride.

A variation on the school theme is the Upromise card by Citi. This is a special interest credit card that allows you to use a portion of your purchases to help someone at college. This means that when you use your credit card, you could be helping your child -- or the child of a friend or relative -- cover his or her college costs.

Choosing a special interest credit card

With so many special interest credit cards to choose from, you still need to shop around for the best credit card deal for you. Here are some things to keep in mind as you decide on special interest credit cards:

• Interest rate.
• Any fees.
• How much of purchases go to the charity.
• Whether the card is officially associated with the organization.
• What kind of benefits and features are offered.

It is important to realize that just because there are donations going to a worthy cause, it does not mean the credit card is a good deal. In some cases, you might be better off just making a straight donation, rather than using a credit card program.