3.6 What are charity credit cards?

A.k.a

• Affinity credit cards
• Partner credit cards

If you have a favourite charity, you may well be able to get a credit card which will help you to support it.

Charity credit cards give support to the designated charity in three ways:

1. When you sign up to the card, the provider will normally give a one-off lump sum contribution to the relevant charity
2. Whenever you spend a certain amount on the card, the card issuer will give a small percentage to the charity
3. By using the card you will publicly show which charity you support and raise awareness of it because the credit card will display the charity’s branding for everyone to see

In simple terms, charity credit cards work in much the same way as a cash back credit card except that instead of the money being credited back to your account, it goes to charity instead. A percentage of the amount spent on the card will be donated to the charity at no extra cost to the cardholder.

As an added bonus, most charity credit card providers will make a larger donation to the charity when the card is first taken out. However, if you use the card to borrow, a percentage of the money you pay for interest charges will not go to the charity. The card issuer will only make a donation based on the purchases made using the card.

These days, interest rates and 0% offers on charity cards are similar to those offered by most other types of credit cards. If you therefore want to make regular donations to your favourite charity, a charity credit card will offer you this service without reducing your interest-free periods or increasing your typical APR and so it really will be at no extra cost to you.

If you can’t find a charity credit card which supports your favourite cause, another option would be to get a cash back credit card and personally donate any money you earn in rewards to the charity.

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