Money fix: Tips on cash-back credit cards

If you've got a good credit score, you may be seeing an uptick in offers for cash-back credit cards. They reward you with, say, 1 percent to 5 percent cash back on purchases of gas, groceries and other items. As rewards cards go, they're pretty attractive, says Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of LowCards.com, a comparison, ranking and review site, because "cash works everywhere." Still, consider the following:

1. Interest rate. Getting cash back doesn't matter if you don't pay in full each month, as interest rates on these cards can be high and will eat into or wipe out that added cash. So, Hardekopf advises first to seek out a non-rewards card with a low interest rate and pay off those balances before looking for a cash-back or other rewards card.

2. Compare offers. You can check out terms on sites like Bankrate.com, Credit.com and Hardekopf's site. Keep your spending patterns in mind, he says, and consider cards that give the best deals on your everyday purchases. While 5 percent cash back on home improvement buys may sound awesome, it won't do much if renovation and repair is not really your thing.

3. Terms. Some deals have rotating categories, meaning you could get 5 percent back on gas purchases three months a year and a lower cash-back rate the other nine months. Or, you might have to remember to enroll each quarter to get a higher cash-back rate, and you may have to spend a certain amount before the deal kicks in. Read the fine print, says Linda Howland, executive director of Rethink ingDebt.org, a credit counseling agency based in Rochester that has opened an office in Hauppauge. "The devil is in the details."