SIOUX FALLS, SD - The offers are piling back up in the mail. Credit card companies are once again sending out enticing offers to consumers to open their card and offering teaser rates and all kinds of rewards.

But according to Consumer Reports those tantalizing offers can turn into "credit card gotchas."

You can get several a day, saying you've been pre-approved for a new credit card. And there are all kinds of incentives to take the bait, from travel reward programs to cash back.

"For some people they do charge everything on their credit card and pay it off every month and use those points and things work fine for them," Allysia Sturm of Consumer Credit Counseling said.

But according to Consumer Reports, sometimes those offers aren't all they're cracked up to be.

First, watch out for seasonal savings from cards like Chase Freedom and Discover More. That means the cash back reward actually rotates from one category to the next. And you have to be the one to "opt in" to the cash back program every time the category changes.

"It can vary from creditor to creditor and you really have to know what they're doing and understand it completely to get the incentive, the cash back, the points or whatever the bonus might be," Sturm said.

Consumer Reports also calls out the Discover More card for having spending tiers. You can get up to one percent cash back on your purchases, but if you spend less than $3,000 a year, you only get 0.25 percent cash back.

"Yeah, it can be enticing to spend more, but make sure you plan and don't be caught in that trap. If you spend more are you going to be able to pay it back," Sturm said.

Also, if you're racking up points for an airline ticket, make sure your miles don't expire before you have a chance to earn the ticket.

Other cards like the Citi Dividend World MasterCard and Bank of America's BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa have hidden caps on the rebates they'll give you. In other words, you can only earn so much cash back no matter how much you spend.

And you can lose those rewards if you miss a payment and have to pay to get them back. The Discover More card takes away all your points if you miss two payments in a row.

"They can increase your interest rate if you miss payments. They can cancel their program or incentive program if you're missing payments. Even if it's just an accident," Sturm said.

Plus, you'll also pay late fees and it will affect your credit report.

You'll also want to watch out for those introductory teaser rates, like zero percent financing for six months. If you don't pay off the card in those six months, your interest will accrue and it won't be such a good deal.
If you want to opt-out from getting all these offers, you can call.

Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT or click here. Your name will be removed from the mailing list for 5 years.