Credit Card Perks Warranties, protection, freebies...

Get free flights or spending vouchers

To bribe you to sign up, many cards dole out freebies as soon as you spend a trigger amount on them. So sign up and do your normal spending on the card until you hit the trigger, ensuring you ALWAYS repay in full so there's no interest, then wait for the freebie � and you needn't bother using the card again.

The freebies available can be vast. Typical deals include the Lloyds Duo Avios* card, where provided you do �500/month of your normal spending on it for three months, you get enough Avios points for a return flight to Barcelona, Rome and more (though you'll still need to pay �30 taxes) or a return on Eurostar. The card has a 17.9% representative APR (Official APR Example).

Yet don't just grab this. Before you make a decision, read the full Credit Card Freebies guide; there's up to �30 of high street vouchers on offer, and much more. Or see the Airline Credit Cards guide for the top frequent flyer cards.

Get free extended warranties

Most electrical goods include a free year-long warranty � so if the product breaks down you can get it repaired at no cost. However, they also try to sell you extended warranties to last for extra years at a vastly increased cost.

However, one credit card gives you an automatic extra year's extended warranty on electrical goods, provided you use it to pay for them. Of course do ensure you pay it off IN FULL at the end of the month or you'll be charged interest.

The Ulster Gold Mastercard (16.9% representative APR - Official APR Example) gives an extra year's cover for after the manufacturer's one or two year guarantee expires. You can register up to six appliances per year. To qualify for cover, registrations must be made within 90 days of purchase for appliances costing between �75 and �2,000, check for exclusions.

It's the cheapest way to spend abroad

Want the best currency rate every time you're abroad? Then spend on the RIGHT credit cards, and it's cheaper than even the best bureaux de change. Often you can be up to 6% better off using the right card.

The top card is Halifax Clarity* which, unlike most cards, doesn't add a hidden commission to the exchange rate and has no ATM withdrawal fee. So pop it in your wallet just for holidays, but ALWAYS repay in full to minimise interest � if not, the interest cost dwarves any gain from the foreign currency use. It has a 12.9% representative APR (Official APR Example).

Don't assume all cards are cheap though, most are hideous. To check yours and see a full explanation, go to the full Cheap Travel Spending guide.

Get protection if the company you buy from goes bust

Buy something costing over �100 on a credit (NOT debit) card, and under the Section 75 law, your lender is jointly liable with the retailer. If the company goes kaput and you can't contact it about problems or any other issue, you have exactly the same consumer rights with the card company as you do with the retailer to get money back or compensation.

This applies even if you only pay a deposit on the card. Buy a �3,000 TV and pay just 10p on the credit card and, they'll hate us for telling you, but the card company's liable for the whole �3,000.

So if you're ordering an expensive product, do it on a credit card for safety, though of course ALWAYS pay it off in full to avoid interest. For more info including what counts as "spending �100" and how to make a claim, see the full Section 75 & Visa Chargeback guide.

Purchase protection

Many credit cards offer a purchase protection system, meaning if you buy goods on the card and it is lost or stolen within a set time � usually about 90 days � you can get the money back from the credit card company.

This isn't the biggest deal, though coupled with the more important Section 75 legal protection explained above, it's useful. For most people it's not worth a new card application to get one of these, but be aware which of your cards have it, and if something goes wrong know you can reclaim.

Use it to boost your credit score

Those with poor credit histories can boost them by using a credit card to demonstrate responsibility.

Of course, getting a card isn't easy if you have a poor credit score � so you need to apply for special �easy to get' cards which normally come with hideous 30%-plus interest rates.

Yet this isn't a problem, as all you need to do is spend a little each month, and then set up a direct debit to fully repay each month so it's INTEREST-FREE. Then after a year, your credit history should be bolstered. For a full list of cards and how this works, see the Credit Cards For Poor Credit guide.

Stooze for free cash

For the super-savvy and debt-free, you can make �100s for free from credit cards. They'll lend you cash at 0%, so stick it in a top savings account and earn 3% on it. There's even a word for this: stoozing.

The easiest way is to bag a card which has a 0% deal for spending on. Use it for normal expenditure, then save the unused money in your bank account. For full instructions and which cards to use, see the full Stoozing guide.

Free ID fraud protection

If you get any Capital One* credit card, it comes with free ID fraud protection. Most importantly this doesn't just apply to Capital One's products, but everything you have � whether you use the card or not.

So just getting the card means you get some of the extra protection � of course, if you spend without paying it off in full though, you will pay interest.

The protection involves two free credit checks each year and an ID fraud helpline to call if needed. See the full Free ID Fraud Protection guide for full info.

Use it to get loans cheaper than the cheapest loans

So you need a loan � what's the cheapest way? A credit card. After all, the cheapest credit cards are cheaper than the cheapest loans (borrow less than �2,000 and you pay 18%). The difficulty is replicating the �ready cash' function of a loan.

A few cards have a special facility that lets new cardholders pay cash into your bank account which you can use as a loan, leaving you owing the card the money.

These include the MBNA* card, which is 0% for 23 months with a 4% fee (it's 20.9% representative APR after - Official APR Example). So if you can repay in that time, it's a winner.

The one warning is that while loans have repayments over a fixed time, with credit cards you repay what you like above the minimum. So to truly replicate a loan's enforced discipline, set a repayment to clear debts in a fixed time, eg, three years, and set up a direct debit. For a full step-by-step guide, see the Cheap Credit Card Loans guide.

Get paid to spend on �em

Far too many people who have credit cards repay them in full and think they're doing well, as it doesn't cost them. WRONG. Some credit cards pay you cash each time you spend on them.

Do all normal spending on them and you can earn �100s a year � just ensure you've a direct debit to repay in full each month so it's interest-free.

Current top payer American Express Platinum* pays 5% cashback for three months, then up to 1.25%, but it also has an annoying �25 annual fee. If you don't pay it off in full, it has a 14.0% representative APR (Official APR Example) on spending (18.7% APR including fee).

For a full list of alternatives, see the Top Cashback Cards guide. Alternatively, grab credit card rewards schemes like Nectar points or Avios. See the ranking in the Best Credit Card Rewards guide.

Great if you're locked out�

Here's one more tip for free. I've never had the knack myself, but I'm told you can squeeze a card through the gap in your door to let yourself back in.