The best credit cards for men and women

With men and women spending money in different places, some credit cards may be better suited to just one gender.

It turns out there are all sorts of differences between men and women, not just how we look, but also how we spend our money.

No, this isn’t the start of an awful foray into ‘observational’ stand-up comedy, but the findings of new research from Santander.

The bank looked into the way men and women use their credit cards, and has highlighted some of the more significant differences.

Here are the eight areas where men spend more on their cards than women.

So a lot more money is being spent on cars, toys and booze!

Now, let’s take a look at the areas women spend more on their cards than men

So a lot more spent on health products and in department stores.

Armed with this info, let’s look at which cards are most likely to appeal – and offer a decent return – to each gender.

The best credit cards for men

Men clearly spend a lot more on cars than women, with car rental, vehicle outlets and petrol stations all appearing in the table above. Indeed money spent at petrol stations accounts for 11.6% of all the money men spend on their cards in total!

One card that will appeal then is the AA Rewards card.  Not only do you get 0% interest on all card spending for ten months but you also earn reward points for all of your spending – and double points on motoring, fuel and AA products.

Those points can be spent on all sorts of car products, like breakdown cover, maps and even driving lessons. The points can also be cashed in on vouchers, treats and even cashback if you don’t want to use them on your car.

Another card that caters specifically to people that spend a lot at the pump is the Santander 123 cashback credit card. This card offers 3% cashback on your petrol spending, up to a maximum of £9 cashback a month.

The best credit cards for women

Santander’s research found that women spend 36% more in department stores than men. It should not be a surprise that one credit card which offers a good return on department store spending comes from Santander, then!

The 123 cashback credit card offers a rate of 2% cashback, uncapped, on the money you spend in department stores. Be warned, there is an annual fee of £24 to take into account though.

The 123 card also offers 1% cashback on the money you spend in supermarkets, another area where female spending trounces that of men. However, a better option may be to go for the credit card on offer from the supermarket you most often frequent. That way you can get extra loyalty points, which can be cashed in for money off your shopping or exchanged into vouchers for days out.

The Tesco Clubcard credit card not only offers a marvellous 15 months of 0% interest on spending, but also gives the opportunity to accrue an awful lot of Clubcard points. You get one point for every £4 you spend outside of Tesco, but as the card doubles as your Clubcard, you get the standard Clubcard points on top when you use the card in-store.

Alternatively there’s the Sainsbury’s Nectar credit card. This card offers 0% interest for six months on purchases, but the big selling point is that it entitles you to double nectar points for two years on your shopping at Sainsbury’s! And then there's the Asda Reward card, with which you could earn up to £50 in vouchers based on your spending habits.

The best credit cards for everyone

There are no credit cards that I know of that offer an obvious return on money specifically spent in toy shops or mail order catalogues. However, there are cards that offer you a return wherever you spend your money, so should be considered whether you are from Mars or Venus!

First off, cashback cards. I’ve already mentioned the Santander 123 card, but there are two cashback cards that offer an overall better deal in my view. With the American Express Platinum cashback card you get 5% cashback in the first three months (up to a cap of £100) followed by a rate of 1.25% thereafter. Each year, to mark your anniversary with the card, that rate jumps to 2.5% for a month too!

And then there’s the Capital One World MasterCard, paying 5% on purchases in the first three months (again capped at £100). After that your rate of cashback is tiered depending on how much you spend – 0.5% if you spend less than £6,000, 1% if you spend between £6,000 and £10,000 and 1.25% if you spend in excess of £10,000.

In terms of general rewards cards, I’ve already highlighted the Tesco and Sainsbury’s cards that help you boost your Clubcard and Nectar card points totals. Alternatively, why not look at a card that will help you cut the cost of your holidays? Lloyds TSB offers the Duo Avios cards, the official cards of the Avios (formerly Airmiles scheme) while most airlines (including British Airways, Virgin and bmi) have their own loyalty credit cards.  For more on these cards, check out Big changes to Airmiles flight deals.

This research is all just a bit of fun really, and – let’s be honest – a way for Santander to plug its 123 cashback card. But it does demonstrate that working out where you are spending your cash, and adjusting your choice of credit card accordingly, can leave you better off.

Remember you can use the lovemoney.com MoneyTrack tool to get an accurate breakdown of exactly where you are spending every penny!

More on credit cards:

The best balance transfer credit card

Earn top cashback on your spending

30 very long interest-free credit cards