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Just when they thought the worst was over our MPs are facing yet another barrage of investigation into their expenses claims. Even the PMs blushes haven’t been spared on this occasion with Mr. Brown now having to stump up at least £12,000 for over-claimed expenses.

When it comes to financing duck-ponds and lavish home makeovers most of us have to rely on the good old honest buck, but if you’re determined to take advantage of a tasty little back-hander (of sorts) then you could look at some of the rewards credit cards now on offer.

MoneyExpert.com gives some top tips for those looking for a credit card that offers a little bit more.

Don’t be fooled

The key thing is not to be blinded by a seemingly endless list of deals and discounts on offer. A range of card providers offer shopping discounts across a range of high street stores, but while the list of partners can itself look impressive the actual value of the discounts available might not be quite so staggering.

If you’re planning to use your credit card to borrow money then it’s likely that any cash back offer or discount will be immediately offset by a marginally higher APR. Always make an effort to calculate the overall cost of a credit card, including APRs and fees for balance transfers before being unduly influenced by the deals on offer.

What’s best for you?

The types of reward and discounts available in the credit card market vary considerably so it’s important that you find a card that suits you.

The Air Miles available on the British Airways cards from American Express may be valuable but unless you’re a frequent flyer you should probably look elsewhere. You’d also have to bear in mind the APR of 19.9% which doesn’t stack up all that well compared to other cards with APRs closer to the 15% mark.

Think about the long term

Most credit card reward schemes won’t knock your socks off in terms of the immediate financial benefit you receive but over the long term you could earn some significant sums.

If you were to take out the Egg Credit Card you could earn cashback on purchases from a number of stores. The offers includes cashback of 10% on purchases from Virgin Wines, 20% from Buyagift.com, and 5% from the likes of Currys and CD Wow!, all ideal for Christmas. Spending £200 at each of those outlets for Christmas using the Egg Card would earn you a total cashback sum of £80.

If cashback’s your thing, though, the top card remains the Platinum Cashback card from American Express. It offers 5% cashback on all spending for the first three months.

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