If you’re trying to look for credit cards, you have a lot of different options. However, one option that seems to come up again and again would definitely have to be rewards credit cards.

There’s a reason why rewards credit cards are so popular. Everyone likes the feeling of getting something just as a bonus for using a service. When you use rewards credit cards, you’re getting miles or points that can be used towards a wide variety of times that you would get in your everyday life. However, is there a dark side to rewards credit cards? Not precisely — but there are some pitfalls that you need to be aware of.

First and foremost, rewards credit cards are going to go to the top tier of cardholders — meaning the people that have near flawless credit. If you have had credit issues in the past, it is highly unlikely that you’re going to get credit now. It’s all about being able to make absolutely sure that you have your finances in order.

Another point that needs to be made here is that if you do decide to go with rewards credit cards, you should know that they tend to carry a higher interest rate than credit cards that don’t have rewards. This means that you’re going to be paying extra interest charges for all of those perks. You have to do the math on your own based on your own needs to find out whether or not that’s worth it. If you are going to be putting charges on your card and paying them off in advance every month, then the interest issue isn’t that big of a deal. But if you’re like most people, you will probably carry a balance on your card and that’s where the interest can really spiral out of control. This is even more the case if you only pay back the minimum on the card — it can take you a very long time to finish that off.

Speaking of paying, you want to also make sure that you don’t skip payments or pay very late, because then the credit card company can pull the terms of the card away from you. Your interest rate will most likely go through the roof — sometimes as high as 23% or more — and you will also lose the right to collect those rewards points. You also need to check the fine print and see whether or not you lose all of the points that you’ve accumulated.

Rewards credit cards definitely have their place — and you will want to check them out. Just make sure that you are keeping your wits about you and everything will be just fine.