4 Credit Card Moves to Make Before the End of the Year

Checking these off your list could benefit you big time.

The end of the year is when many of us start making plans for the holidays and checking gift purchases off of our respective lists. But the end of the year is also a good time to get your financial house in order, and that includes making sure you have the right credit cards, aren't too loaded with debt, and are maximizing your rewards. Here are some key credit card moves to make before 2022 closes out.

1. Pay off lingering credit card debt

If you're carrying a balance on your credit cards, paying it off could help you kick off the new year with a clean financial slate. You may want to consider taking on a seasonal job and using your earnings to whittle down your balance so you don't have to deal with it in 2023.

Also, consumer interest rates have been rising across the board, so your credit card debt could become more expensive in 2023. That's all the more reason to pay it off now.

2. Use up expiring credit card rewards

Some credit cards have rewards that don't expire. But certain cards offer rewards that have a limited shelf life. If you have any of those, make sure to use up your rewards so you don't give them up.

If you have a store credit card, for example, you may have store reward dollars that expire at some point in December. Consider using that store cash to cover some of your holiday gifts.

3. Decide if you should keep your annual fee cards

You may be paying an annual fee for some of the credit cards in your wallet. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it could mean that you're getting much better perks out of those cards. In fact, you may be getting enough cash back that your fee pays for itself.

But now's a good time to make sure those annual fee cards are offering you the right amount of value. If not, you may want to consider canceling them or downgrading them to a no-fee version with fewer frills.

4. Chase a sign-up bonus

The tricky thing about credit card sign-up bonuses is that you have to meet a certain spending threshold to claim your free cash. And sometimes, that threshold can be high.

But chances are, your credit card bills are higher during the holiday season than they are most months of the year. And so if you know you'll be making a lot of extra purchases in the coming weeks, it could pay to apply for a new credit card with a generous sign-up bonus attached to it.

At this point in the year, you may be busy mapping out a Thanksgiving menu, booking travel plans for Christmas, and buying concert tickets to ring in the new year. But it's also a good time to take a look at your credit cards and make sure they're serving you well. At the same time, it pays to work on eliminating existing credit card debt and signing up for new cards that could put a nice amount of cash back in your pocket.