You love to earn rewards points when you use your credit card. Maybe you wish you could earn more of those points. To do that though, it means you have to spend more money! Or does it? Did you know that your rewards credit card might give you an opportunity to earn extra rewards points just for shopping at partner companies? Did you know that other credit card companies offer up to several thousand bonus points just for choosing their card?

Here are three different rewards cards that will enable you to maximise the rewards point you earn by shopping with specific companies, or cards that offer significant bonus points when you begin to use your new card:

Woolworths Everyday Money Credit Card

The Woolworths Everyday Money card gives you a chance to earn up to three rewards points for every dollar spent. Sounds good, right? However, if you want to fully take advantage of the rewards programme and earn those maximum points, you’ll need to spend your money in certain places. For example, you’ll earn three points per dollar spent on Woolworths Select products purchased in-store (not online). You’ll earn two points per dollar spent on other purchases made at Woolworths Group Stores. For most other purchases you make using your card, you’ll earn a more common rewards rate of one point per dollar spent. If you shop at Woolworths anyway, you can maximise your rewards point potential by using the Woolworths Everyday Money card.

Qantas American Express Premium Credit Card

The Qantas American Express Premium card gives you a couple of ways to earn more rewards points. You’ll have the potential to earn up to 7500 bonus points through their special introductory offer for starters. If you’re approved for this card, you’ll be credited with 5000 points after you make your first purchase on your card. You’ll get another 2500 bonus rewards points the first time you use your Qantas American Express Premium credit card to actually purchase Qantas services, such as booking a flight. In addition to the bonus point offer, you can earn an extra point per dollar spent (2.25 points instead of 1.25 points) when you use your card to purchase selected Qantas services. If you do a lot of travelling with Qantas, it would definitely be in your best interest to use this credit card over another rewards card.

Citibank BP Credit Card

At first glance, the 0.5% you’ll save on purchases using the Citibank BP credit card might not look very appealing compared to other rewards programmes. However, if you purchase a lot of petrol and other products through BP you’ll discover that the Citibank BP card can actually save you more money than other rewards cards that offer cash back. In this case, the rewards increase tenfold to 5% savings on BP purchases.

By shopping around, you can find many rewards cards that offer special incentives like bonus points or increased rewards points if you shop with preferred retailers. Keep your eyes open for these deals before applying for a new credit card, and you might find a card that will let you earn more rewards points just for buying the products and services you would have spent money on anyway with your favourite companies.