The holidays are upon us, and that means spending on gifts, travel, decorations, groceries … you name it, you'll probably end up buying it. But when you own and wisely use a rewards credit card, spending can lead to earning.

Here are five ways to get the most out of your card's rewards.

1. Maximize extra-points offers.

Your rewards card likely racks up 1 percent in rewards on all your purchases. It may also have categories of purchases that regularly give 2 percent back. Special, occasional offers in certain categories may even give you 5 percent back in rewards. Take advantage of those as much as possible if they are things you would normally buy. If you usually use cash for those, try using your card to buy them for the period during which you'll get the bonus points. Just adjust your budget accordingly.

One way to maximize these 5 percent offers is to buy gift cards. Time Money recommends, "finding a store in the category that sells gift cards and buying" as many as you can up to the spending cap (invariably, the offer will have a limit of a certain dollar amount for which extra rewards will be given). You can then use the gift cards for purchases you'd only normally get 1 percent or 2 percent back on. Or you can actually give them as presents for the holidays.

2. Juggle a few cards.

Since different cards provide different offers that give 5 percent back periodically, and because they're in varying categories, if you really want to get the most of cash back or other rewards that you'll use, apply for and use several brands of credit cards. And if the cards' special offers are regular year after year, and you know when extra rewards are given, plan to do your spending at those retailers or sites when the 5 percent back will be available, Credit Karma recommends.

You can either use "sticky notes" to remind you which cards to use for which purchases at which retailers, as one man does, Time Money reports, or you can go higher-tech and use an app. Time Money suggests Wallaby or Reward Summit, apps that "track categories and tell you which card to use at the store you're in."

3. Use your card to pay for friends and have them pay you cash.

If you and a group of friends or family members are traveling together, for example, you can earn a ton of rewards points by using your card for the whole trip and having your friends pay you back in cash, wisebread.com suggests. "This applies for almost anything, not just trips. If ever your friends or even a family member is about to make a large purchase, offer to do it for them."

4. Visit your card's online shopping site first.

Most institutions have a shopping "portal" that gives you extra points if you start there and link to other retailers or websites for your purchases, Time Money says. Before going straight to a retailer's website to buy something, first check your card's site to see if you can get more points by jumping off from there. During the holidays, you can buy some of your gifts for friends and family to earn more rewards and then use the rewards to finish up your list. Or you can go to the travel section and rack up rewards flying where you need to go to see family or renting a car or booking a hotel.

If you've already taken advantage of various rewards through the year, you can use points to visit grandma for free.

5. Be sure to pay your balance monthly.

While it's great to earn rewards toward regular purchases or toward gifts or travel, remember those only benefit your bottom line if you don't accrue interest charges month to month. Keep a budget and stick to it, or make adjustments if you want to take advantage of certain deals. Pay off the monthly balance, or you'll at the very minimum be spending 10 or 15 percent interest just to earn 1, 2 or 5 percent interest back in rewards.

If you don't have a credit card with rewards that suit you yet, or you would like to add a card to your wallet, try the Visa Rewards program at Deseret First Credit Union.

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