If you pay your balance every month, you should be getting more than monthly bills from your credit cards.

You should be earning miles or points toward airline tickets, gift cards, electronic gadgets or even cash rebates.

Just look at how one consumer, Sabrina Karl took control of her credit cards and made them work for her.

That's why we checked out dozens of cards to find the best reward cards for you. We put them into three categories: air miles, cash back on gasoline purchases and just plain cash back.

None of our picks charge annual fees. They often bestow extra miles or points on things you buy the most. And they make it quick and easy to redeem those miles or points for things you value most.

Interest rates weren't a big concern -- in fact, some of them are a little high. But reward cards make the most sense for consumers who pay their balances off each and every month, so rates don't come into play. (If you are carrying a balance, your top priority should be a low interest rate.)

Check out our picks and see which one's right for you.

Airline Miles

Once again the Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards heads our list. It is the best card for earning miles toward airline tickets. But it also has superior rewards and a great cash-back program. And even though you still need really good credit to qualify, even those standards have been relaxed a bit.

The Capital One card allows you to earn a hefty 1.25 miles for every dollar spent. Those miles can be redeemed on any airline, with no blackout dates, there's no limit to the number of miles you can accumulate and no expiration date as long as you keep using the card. And there is no annual fee.

For tickets costing:

• $150 or less, you're charged 15,000 miles.
• $150 to $350, you're charged 35,000 miles.
• $350 to $600, you're charged 60,000 miles.
• More than $600 and you're charged 100 times the price in miles. So, if your ticket is $750 that would cost you 75,000 miles. There is no limit as to how many miles you can spend or how expensive the ticket can be.

Your miles can be used for travel, merchandise, charitable donations, or gift certificates. Or you can get cash rebates.

If your credit is good but not quite good enough to land a No Hassle card, consider the Miles by Discover Card.

You can travel on any airline with no blackout restrictions and get double miles for up to $3,000 in travel and restaurant purchases. Otherwise, you earn 1 mile for every dollar you charge.

In addition, you can earn 1,000 bonus miles each month that you make a purchase during the first 12 months that you have your card (12,000-mile cap). You can also use your miles for hotel stays, car rentals, cruises and other travel-related rewards.

If you don't use your miles, you can get gift cards to use for purchases at 50 brand-name partners' online stores or you can redeem them for cash.

Gas Rewards Cards

If you put in a lot of time behind the wheel and spend big bucks on gas every month, we have two suggestions:

The Chase PerfectCard allows you to earn rebates on all of your gas purchases. You get 6% back during the first 90 days you have your card and 3% after that. There is, however, a $500 per month cap on how much you can earn at this level. You also earn a 1% rebate on all other purchases.

There is no annual fee and you need only good -- not excellent -- credit to qualify.

The Discover Open Road Card offers 5% cash back on your first $1,200 in annual purchases (although no more than $100 a month) at gas stations and stores that specialize in automotive parts and services, such as auto dealerships, auto repair shops, tire stores and car washes.

You earn a 0.25% rebate on the first $1,500 worth of other purchases, 0.50% on the second $1,500 and 1% after you've spent $3,000. Once you reach the $1,200 annual limit on fuel, further car-related purchases earn at this rate, as well. You can get cash rebates in $20 increments.

In addition, you can get cash bonuses from 5% to 20% when shopping at Discover's online site, which offers merchandise from almost 50 retailers. Barnes & Noble, Kohl's, Land's End, the Apple Store and iTunes, the NASCAR Superstore, JC Penney and PetsMart and are among the popular stores that offer bonus cash.

Just Rewards Cards

If you are looking for a card that is generous regarding how you can earn and spend your points, you can't do much better than the Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card.

There's no annual fee and you only need "good" credit to qualify.

You get a $50 gift card (worth 6,000 points) if you charge your first purchase within three months after receiving your card -- or you can save those points and use them for other rewards.

You earn 5 points for every dollar spent at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations and 1 point for every dollar spent for all your other purchases.

You can redeem points for travel, a variety of products including electronics, sporting goods and so forth, as well as for restaurants, gas, gift cards and at a wide variety of name-brand merchants. You can check out the rewards at Citi's Thank You Network.

The Chase Freedom Visa card rewards you with 3% cash back for every eligible $1 spent at grocery stores, gas stations and fast-food restaurants, which also makes it a good card for drivers looking for a break on gas prices. In addition, you can earn 1% on every dollar spent for almost any other purchases.

You can receive a $50 check when you've earned $50 in rewards or -- better yet -- you can save them up and redeem $200 worth of rewards for $250 cash back. The 0% introductory interest rate runs for six months and there is no annual fee. The regular interest rate is 14.24%, so this is definitely not a card for anyone who carries a balance.

By Carolyn Siegel

Interest.com Associate Editor

Have a question about your finances? Ask us at editors@interest.cominterest.com