CC Reward Points

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GMFan

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I've had a Chase Freedom Credit Card I use as my primary CC. I have racked up a decent amount of "rewards points" and they allow you to redeem them for merchandise, credit to your account or they can mail you a check for the amount. I have enough points to redeem for a few hundred dollars.

My brother told me he redeems his points whenever he can because he says the CC companies can simply cancel the rewards program whenever they'd like or they can take them away for a missed payment, etc.

What do folks do with there rewards points? Is it a bad idea to simply sit on these rewards points? Should I be worried and cash them in whenever I have an opportunity?
 
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There's no reason not to cash out as often as you want, or apply them to your bill. They're not gaining "interest" or something while they sit there.
 
Read your credit card agreement. It will state somewhere (buried) in there what happens if you miss payments or lose the card, which is in fact, typically losing all your points.

I had a card that got points, I coasted on it until I could use it to purchase fuel cards. Obviously the longer you waited the better the deal ($50 gas card, 10,000 points, $100 gas card, 18,000 points).

Depending on what type of rewards you get for waiting, you'll have to weigh in on your options. I personally never had a problem waiting. My credit card company has managed to screw themselves over a number of times but I never lost anything. Make sure you don't miss a payment though or chaos ensues.
 
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Originally Posted By: GMFan
What do folks do with there rewards points? Is it a bad idea to simply sit on these rewards points? Should I be worried and cash them in whenever I have an opportunity?


We've certainly seen some cases where companies acted in a bit of a shady fashion. Usually, though, they give some kind of notice as to when a program is cancelled or fundamentally changed. Most, of course, deduct points if you miss payments. That's in the agreements. In any case, I don't see a lot of value in sitting on the points. You can't take them with you, and unlikely cash, the points are probably non-transferable.
wink.gif


I sit on points if a special is coming or I'm accumulating points for a larger purchase. From Shoppers, I got enough points to get over 50% off a PS3, and I've got enough Petro-Points now and am amassing them at such a rate I'll probably never have to pay real money for oil again.
 
Depends on if you can get a bonus, like a $50 gas card for $40. Cheap tickets to disney world don't really count for me. If a bank is known for giving Home Depot cards at discount once a year for example I'll sit on my points until then.

I use chase and cash them in (credit to account) at $50-100.
 
I wouldnt trust the CC companies in any way.

Of course if all you can trade a low number of points is for junk you dont want, then you dont have much choice.

Id look for what is the best bang for the buck.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Depends on if you can get a bonus, like a $50 gas card for $40. Cheap tickets to disney world don't really count for me. If a bank is known for giving Home Depot cards at discount once a year for example I'll sit on my points until then.

I use chase and cash them in (credit to account) at $50-100.


Agreed.

For me, there is no benefit to waiting, so I cash in as soon as I can, using the points for statement credit. I have the Chase Amazon card, so if I'm purchasing something on Amazon, which is fairly often for me, I'm able to use every single one of my points at checkout, too.

The only reason NOT to use the points for Amazon purchases, is because Amazon purchases are worth 3 pts/dollar spent, and no points are awarded for the portion of the purchase that points were used for (obviously.) IMO, it's Amazon's sneaky way of getting you to A) shop at Amazon again, and B) not gain any points for that portion of the purchase.

My interest rate is quite high, much higher than my USAA card, but the points are a lot better, and I pay off the entire amount every two weeks, when I get paid. I carry a balance MAYBE once or twice a year, which I justify because I'd rather pay a few bucks in interest than dig into my savings if I don't have to.

I actually put my entire wedding and honeymoon on my credit card, though not all at once, mind you. I think, for the year, I'm up a few hundred $ in rewards cash back, and since I didn't want to dip into savings too much, I ended up having to pay a couple of dollars. I'll repeat that: Chase paid me a few hundred, and I paid them MAYBE a few single dollars.
 
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I noticed with my CC that if I wait and get 10,000 points, I get more cash back than if I were to only wait till 5,000 points. My points don't expire for an entire year.

For example-

5,000 points will get me a $25 gift card/cash back.
8,000 points will get me a $50 gift card/cash back.
 
From Chase I get a check, from Bank of America I get a check with a 10% bonus directly to my B of A checking account.
 
I have 3 rewards credit cards that had amassed a total of $700. in rebates. Just cashed them in this past month and added the money to the downstroke on the new car we purchased this month.
 
Chase sometimes allow you to redeem for gift cards with 20% discounts.

I moved my 70k or so Chase points to Mileage Plus as you can make them worth even more that way. Hyatt is by far the best hotel program to transfer to but I couldn't see myself visiting any of their hotels.

I use Thank You points to book airfare as they give a discount so you get better value than a point = 1 cent on redemption.

Others use airline or hotel reward cards directly as they can ramp up with various bonuses and book business class tickets worth thousands for spending that would otherwise give hundreds in cash back

The new breed of "loyalty" consumer concentrates on churning to earn sign on bonuses. And I have to say that it's incredibly lucrative. Focusing in earning cash back instead of sign up bonuses is like having a thick or thin argument instead of changing your oil!

And in general I agree that one should redeem loyalty points instead of hording them. This is especially true for travel rewards. Thank You points had incredibly lucrative redemption for business and first class which ended a few years ago. Fuel surcharges have found their way into many mileage redemption calculations meaning that miles are almost pointless now when redeemed for some intl routes.
 
Originally Posted By: Hermann
From Chase I get a check, from Bank of America I get a check with a 10% bonus directly to my B of A checking account.

I like the option of 10% bonus for direct deposit the BA checking account.
 
Originally Posted By: cchase
There's no reason not to cash out as often as you want, or apply them to your bill. They're not gaining "interest" or something while they sit there.
+1, I have the same card and cash them to the account as often as possible.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Hermann
From Chase I get a check, from Bank of America I get a check with a 10% bonus directly to my B of A checking account.

I like the option of 10% bonus for direct deposit the BA checking account.


It's the best way to redeem that I have found. with the 10% bonus I have almost quit playing the Chase revolving categories game. Pretty much comes out the same.
 
I redeemed 25k points to get $250 amazon gift card so I could buy myself a nest thermostat for xmas. it was from my chase thank you card. Free merchandise when I didn't pay a penny in credit card interest!
 
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
I redeemed 25k points to get $250 amazon gift card so I could buy myself a nest thermostat for xmas. it was from my chase thank you card. Free merchandise when I didn't pay a penny in credit card interest!


All thanks to the folks who max out their cards, and pay the minimum every month, with most of it being interest. My rewards last year on cards was over $150
 
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