Spotlight On: Capital one click reward credit card

The deal

Capital One's new credit card offers online discounts of up to 50 per cent.

The good points

There are a lot of bargain hunters out there who may be attracted by the chance to get 30 per cent off when spending at Travelpack or zavvi.com, 25 per cent at Ted Baker, or half price live entertainment through viagogo.

The bad points

If you don't shop at any of the online stores where discount deals have been arranged, there's little point getting the card. The interest rate is 9.9 per cent, which is almost half the average credit card APR, but more than some.

Conclusion

Reward credit cards are not new, but can prove a useful way to get discounts or build up points towards prizes. However if they encourage you to do more shopping to get perceived bargains, then that is clearly a false economy. You should choose credit cards on cost. If you're going to borrow over a few months or more, then it's imperative to choose the cheapest. If you want rewards, look at cards from Amex or NatWest.