NerdWallet’s Best Credit Card Tips for March 2017

March brings spring break, St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness —and tax preparation. The Nerds have tips for using your credit cards for all of these events.

Take a spring break trip

If you’re hitting the road with your family for a spring getaway, you’ll want to save money however you can. Saving on gas is a great start. TheBlue Cash Preferred® Card from American Expressrewards you with unlimited 3% cash back at U.S.gas stations, plus 6% cash back for U.S.supermarketpurchases (on up to $6,000 in supermarket spending per year, then 1%). Terms apply. Meanwhile, gas is a 5% bonus category this quarter for both theChase Freedom® and eligible Discover credit cards. (How these cards work: You get 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories that you activate, on up to $1,500 per quarter in spending, and 1% on all other spending.)

Speaking of rotating bonus categories, if you haven’t yet opted in to this quarter’s bonus categories, it’s not too late. When you activate on the Chase Freedom® or a Discover card, you’ll get the bonus for all eligible purchases this quarter, even those you made before activating.

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Those jetting to a warmer climate can earn rewards with the right travel credit card:

– If you’re flying to the Southeast:You may have flights bookedon Delta, with agiant hub in Atlanta. With the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express, you earn 2 miles for every dollar spent on Delta purchases, plus priority boarding and the firstchecked bag free for you and up to eight other peopleon your reservation.
– If you’re flyingto the Southwest: You may be flying Southwest Airlines. The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Cardearns 2 points per dollar on Southwest Airlines, 2 points per dollar spent at partner hotels and rental car agencies, and 1 point per dollar on all other spending. Plus, you get a 3,000-point “thank you” bonus every year on your cardholder anniversary.
– If you’re flying somewhere else:The Nerds have two lists that canhelp you maximize your travel spending. Check out our best general travel rewards cards, and our best airline credit cards.

Wear the green

On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish. With the right cards, you can save some green while you’re wearing the green on March 17. TheCiti ThankYou® Preferred Card and theCiti ThankYou® Preferred Card for College Students earn 2 Citi ThankYou Points per dollar spent on entertainment andrestaurants —including bars —and 1 point per dollar on everything else.

Throughout the year, MasterCard celebrates “Priceless Cities” by offering access to special events in select cities. Use your MasterCard to visit Chicago and see the Chicago River dyed green for the St. Paddy’s Day festivities or join 2 million spectators in New York City to experience the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world.

Dive into March Madness

Even if you’re not a college basketball fanatic, you can still get in on the action. Capital One is a “Corporate Champion” of the NCAA, and the issuer issponsoring the March Madness Bracket Challenge. Choose your teams and follow their road to the Final Four in Phoenix from the comfort of home. If you really want to experience March Madness, though, get off the couch and fly to Phoenix with your Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. You earn 2 miles for all spending, and you can book any airline at any time with no blackout dates.

But why wait for the NCAA championship to get crazy over basketball? TheACC tournamentwill be held March 7-11in New York City, and with a Citi credit or debit card, you havepreferred access to tickets through Citi Private Pass. Who knows — the ultimate NCAA champion may come out of the ACC (North Carolina and Duke are always factors), and you can say you were there at the beginning.

Pay your taxes (preferably by check)

After all the fun of spring break and NCAA hoopla, it’s time to get serious and pay your taxes. The question of whether to pay your taxes with a credit card comes up a lot this time of year. The Nerds have some warnings about doing that. In short, it’s an option — but it’s not a very good option because of the extra fees that get tacked on. According to the IRS, you can pay your taxes by credit or debit card through three authorized payment processors. But you need to calculate the fees you’ll pay in addition to your tax bill.

Payment ProcessorDebit Card FeesCredit Card FeesPayUSAtax.com$2.651.98%, minimum $2.69Pay1040.com$2.591.87%, minimum $2.59OfficialPayments.com/fed$2.25 up to $1,000, $3.95 over $1,0002.00%, minimum $2.50

Ellen Cannon is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: ecannon@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ellencannon.

The article NerdWallet’s Best Credit Card Tips for March 2017 originally appeared on NerdWallet.