
New technologies, increased competition, and a rapidly changing retail world have pushed credit card issuers to add all sorts of innovations and incentives to their offerings. Here are some features to consider, whether on your current card or a new one.

1. A simple wave of the hand… and you’ve paid!
The magic: You’re at the checkout, ready to pay. Without having to hand your credit card to the cashier or insert it into a card reader, you use your card to pay.
The secret behind the trick : Most new cards now have built-in radio-frequency identification, or RFID, technology (look for the little symbol on the card). That means if you’re making an in-person purchase at a store that accepts contactless payments — and more than two-thirds do — you can pay by simply tapping your card against the reader. Nearly 20 percent of in-person transactions in the country are done this way, says Visa, on behalf of the U.S. Payments Forum.
Expert Tip : You may have seen ads for “RFID-blocking” wallets to prevent criminals from reading your card, but security experts say that risk is very low.
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Use your card in the store… even if you left it at home
The magic: When it comes time to pay at the checkout, instead of pulling a credit card out of your pocket, you pull out your phone, tap the card reader… and complete the payment!
The secret behind the trick : Both Apple and Android phones commonly come with what are known as mobile wallets, which allow you to store credit card and other payment information for later use. To get started, click Wallet if you have an iPhone; if you have an Android phone, download the Google Pay app from the Play Store, or try the Samsung Pay app on a Samsung phone. Each app will walk you through the process of adding a credit card to the mobile wallet and then tell you how to activate that stored card to pay for purchases in stores.
Do the old change trick
The magic : You make an online purchase with your credit card, but it’s not your real card: it has a completely different number. And yet, it works.
The secret behind the trick : If you’re worried about someone stealing your card number when you shop online, some credit cards will issue you a “virtual card” with a different number that you can use to make specific purchases. If a criminal gets hold of that number later, it won’t do them any good. To activate this feature, you may need to log into your card’s app or website and request a number. If you have a Capital One card, you can download a browser extension that will automatically generate a number for you.
Money coming out of nowhere
The magic: About a month after spending money with your card, you get a portion of those funds back.
The secret behind the trick: Credit card issuers are offering substantial rewards to attract users. So unless you carry a balance on your credit card — in which case you should focus on paying down that debt — as you spend you can easily earn cash back or rewards points that you can redeem for travel credits. “Travel rewards cards, and those that offer cash back, are very generous right now,” says Beverly Harzog, credit card expert at U.S. News and World Report.
Expert tip: Here are three cash back cards worth exploring: the Citi Double Cash and Wells Fargo Active Cash cards, which pay 2% on all purchases, and the AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard from Barclays*, which pays 3% back on gas and drugstore spending, 2% on qualified medical expenses and 1% on all other spending.
* AARP receives royalties for licensing its brand.
Avoid international transaction fees when you go on vacation
The magic: If you travel internationally and use a card to pay in another country, you avoid the up to 3% transaction fee that most credit cards charge.
The secret behind the trick: Use a card that doesn’t charge fees for currency exchange, such as Bank of America’s Travel Rewards card, Capital One’s Quicksilver Cash Rewards card, or Chase’s Chase Sapphire Preferred Rewards card. “Those international transaction fees, around 3%, are a subtle way to increase the cost of your entire trip,” says Sara Rathner, a credit card specialist at personal finance site NerdWallet.
Expert tip: When using a card with no international fees, decline the option to pay in dollars instead of in the local currency. The exchange rate you’ll receive from your credit card issuer will be much more advantageous than the one offered by whoever presents the option to you at a restaurant or souvenir shop.
Make interest charges disappear
The magic: You go from paying 15% or more on a credit card balance to paying 0% for over a year, giving you relief while you reduce the debt you’ve accumulated.
The secret behind the trick: If you’re paying interest on a credit card balance, you may be able to transfer it to a 0% interest card with a balance transfer offer. Currently, the most generous ones — like the Citi Diamond Preferred card and the Wells Fargo Reflect card — promise 18+ months of 0% interest on transfers. Many balance transfer cards charge an initial fee of 3% to 5% of the transferred amount, so you should do the math before making the switch.
Expert tip: Once you’ve transferred a balance from the old card to the new one, the best strategy is to not add any more charges to the card that now has the balance, Rathner advises. Typically, the issuer will apply the minimum payment to the balance with the lowest interest rate — in other words, it won’t apply it to the new charge that’s costing you 15% or more in interest.