Each level of card has varying and increasingly more complex perks, but the benefit most consumers can actually take advantage of is available on the lower fee cards.

FORBES: Credit Card Tip Of The Week: Using Your Airline Card To Pay For Your Checked Bags

Due to widely varying country conditions, some African economies can take advantage of favorable wages and natural resources and benefit from taking timely measures to develop and export manufacturing goods.

CNN: Opinion: Could Africa be world's next manufacturing hub?

Flexible Spending Accounts: If you have this benefit at work, make sure you take advantage of the pretax benefits to use to pay medical deductibles or other qualifying expenses.

FORBES: Being Played by the Players

This means that Costco is well-situated to benefit from a bump in sales where consumers take advantage of holiday discounts.

FORBES: Costco Is Ready For A Holiday Sales Bump

Hundreds of households unable to take advantage of dual fuel discounts from energy suppliers because they are not on mains gas will benefit.

BBC: Oxfordshire community energy scheme moves to dual fuel

Take advantage of these momentous and seasonal shifts and make sure you have an appropriate allocation to equities poised to benefit, such as global natural resources stocks.

FORBES: Why Resource Investors Can Expect Sunnier Days Ahead

If that happens, you could lose 20% or more of the value of your pension, because the new employer can take advantage of a loophole in the law to rescind the early-retirement subsidy, if the plan offers this additional benefit.

WSJ: Conquering Retirement: A Pension-Plan Health Checkup