Fancy a free flight, some free CDs or DVDs, or even some free money? Well, take out the right credit card and any of those could be yours within a few weeks. It may sound too good to be true but it’s not.

Why do they give freebies?

You see, in some cases credit card companies will literally pay you for taking out their card. Their hope is that you'll grab the freebie and keep spending on their card, racking up debt in the process. The money they’ll then make from you in interest far exceeds what they’ve splashed out to get you on board.

Plus they reckon they can sell you payment protection insurance and other products to suck more cash from your wallet.

How to get freebies

But if you’re clever, you can play the card companies at their own game and come out a winner. The key is to spend only what you need to get the freebie. The trigger point at which you get the freebie could come after £1 of spending or £250 of spending.

Once you’ve reached that point, make sure you pay off the card in full so you’re not charged interest, wait for the freebie to arrive and then cancel the card by contacting the relevant card company.

While there are dozens of cards offering free gifts in return for your custom, be picky as to which one you choose. That’s because if you apply for too much credit in a short space of time then it can hurt your credit score, making it harder to secure cheap credit.

So try to only apply for one card every two months or so and avoid doing so if you’re likely to be looking for a mortgage, loan or 0% credit card over the next few months.

For a list of the top freebies and Martin’s full guide on credit card gifts, read the Credit Card Freebies article.