Charity Credit Cards

How charity credit cards work...

If you feel increasingly disenchanted with the lacklustre rewards offered by affinity cards, then why not treat your favourite charity to a few extra pounds instead.

If you use a charity credit card for all your spending, the bank will have to donate a portion of the costs to a designated charity - not to mention making you feel better about your extravagant spending sprees.

Who offers these cards?

The majority of well-known charities have teamed up with a bank or building society to provide charity credit cards for the mutual benefit of both parties.

The bank benefits by having their company name associated with a good cause and the charity benefits from free/subsidised advertising and exposure, as well as the profits they receive.

How does my spending benefit the charity?

When you use a credit card for purchases the credit card company charges the retailer a fee - this is the reason why some small retailers charge for credit card transactions - which goes towards the credit card companies' profits. However, if you have a charity credit card a portion of this fee will be donated to charity. . .

. . . So technically, your spending forces the credit card company to pay money to charity!

Needless to say, the majority of people more than make up for the bank's 'good will gesture' on needless interest charges they accumulate through carrying a monthly balance over. However, if you are careful enough to never carry a balance over you will have succeeded in forcing the bank to pay out money for nothing, which doesn't happen very often!

Compare charity credit cards