Credit card issuers proved to us in 2011 that they are once again prepared to compete for the best customers by offering some amazing sign-up bonuses. Based on what we've seen so far this year, I think we can expect to see more of the same throughout 2012, but taking advantage of sign-up bonuses and earning rewards for the money you spend aren't the only ways you can profit from credit cards. Here are 5 ways credit cards can actually help keep more cash in your bank account this year:

Here are some interesting credit facts to contemplate while you take your Friday-morning coffee break. Prepare yourself, because I know you're excited! According to TransUnion's most recent Credit Risk Index (CRI), the amount of credit risk taken on by consumers is rising for the first time since its peak in 2009, and the driving factor is mortgage delinquency. Apparently the numbers of homeowners who were at least 60-days late on their mortgage began to rise again during the 4th quarter of 2011. Check out the chart below which shows how the CRI has moved since 2005.

Dear Creditnet: I wanted my son to have a credit card in his name when he went off to college. However, the only way we could get him a card was to apply for one in my name and add him as an authorized user. He used the credit card responsibly for the last four years and upon graduation was able to open a new credit card in his own name. We'd like to close the old one now, even though it doesn't have an annual fee, but we're concerned about how this might affect both of our credit scores. Should we just close it since we don't plan on using the card again?

The British Airways Visa Signature Card is back again with another 100,000 mile promotion. While it's not quite as good as last year's deal, which offered 100,000 bonus points after simply making one purchase and spending $2,500 during the first three months, the latest promotion still provides new cardholders with the opportunity to earn up to 100,000 bonus Avios points during the first year. The main difference between the two deals is that you'll have to spend a lot more this time around to bank all the sign-up bonus points, which means you may even need to make the British Airways Card your go-to credit card for most of the year. Here's a quick breakdown of what you'll need to do to earn the full 100,000 point bonus:

I mentioned in a January blog post that the 50,000 point sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card would likely get the axe before the 2nd quarter of 2012. Well, it was axed as I expected, but the card offer that took it's place is surprisingly not as bad as I originally thought it would be.