Almost every weekday morning for the past year, I've been tapping my credit card for my morning coffee without thinking twice.

What I didn't realize was that I was throwing money away. My card offers up to $84 a year in statement credits for purchases at one of my regular coffee spots — but only if I enrolled first. I hadn't, because I didn't know the credit existed.

Statement credits are cash back on certain purchases — typically with specific brands or retailers — that are applied to your credit card balance. They're essentially free money for things you might already be buying.

Because these offers change often and require enrollment, they're easy to overlook. It took me more than a year to notice the coffee credit, which was added to my card in July 2024.

Like many statement credits, it only activates after you log into your card issuer's website or app and manually opt in. I found the option in the "benefits" tab.

The experience was a good reminder to check my benefits more frequently, at least every few months.

Statement credits can help offset annual fees

Even though statement credits are easy to miss, they're valuable because they can help offset the annual fees that come with premium cards, provided they're used on things you already buy. I chose my card specifically for some of the credits it offers, but I hadn't taken full advantage of them.

I use the American Express Gold card, which comes with a $325 annual fee. Now that I've updated my enrollment, that fee is more than offset by these statement credits, which total $424 annually:

• Dining credit: Up to $10 per month at select partners like Grubhub ($120 per year)
• Uber Cash: $10 per month for Uber Eats or Uber rides in the U.S. ($120 per year)
• Resy dining credit: Up to $50 twice a year at U.S. Resy restaurants ($100 per year)
• Dunkin' credit: Up to $7 per month at U.S. Dunkin' locations ($84 per year)

While I primarily use my card for travel rewards points, I strategically choose it based on the statement credits for things I already buy. This ensures I'm not chasing points unnecessarily, or starting out each year at a loss due to the annual fee. In my case, I use all the services covered by statement credits regularly, so what I have works for me.

Other cards offer comparable value, too. Chase's Sapphire Preferred Card, for instance, includes a $50 annual hotel credit, complimentary DashPass and no foreign transaction fees, with a more budget-friendly annual fee of $95.

Beyond statement credits, most rewards cards offer short-term credits, typically listed as "offers" or "deals" on the lender's website or app. Like statement credits, they provide a credit against your balance after a qualifying purchase, but require manual activation first.

The main difference is that such offers tend to run for a limited time. I enrolled in an offer for the streaming service Max just in time for my annual subscription renewal, for example, which gives me a $25 rebate on a purchase of $99 or more.

Of course, none of these perks matter if you're carrying a balance. With average credit card interest rates near 21%, per Bankrate, any savings from statement credits or offers would quickly be wiped out by interest charges on a balance of a few hundred dollars within a year or two if you only make minimum payments.

That's why I make sure to pay my balance in full each month — it's the only way to truly come out ahead with a rewards card.

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