Redeeming credit card Reward points

chocolate moose

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 12:34 pm

The other day I noticed that DS had redeemed some of his credit card points for three $10 Starbucks cards, and when I mentined this to DH, he also said that he has gotten good things with his points.
I never thought to redeem any of the points on any of my credit cards besides Discover, who gives cash back.

So, the big question is, does everyone know about this or is this news to you, too ?

If you never redeemed any, and your credit card has this program, you are in for some [b]very big treats[/b] !!!!!

Tamiri

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 12:39 pm

I redeem my Capital One points (either 1% or 1.25%, depending on which card we use) each month. I use the cash towards paying off the balance each month, not towards making some vendor wealthier. I never wanted "prize" cards because the value of what they give me is never as good as cash.

Tamiri

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 12:46 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

Actually I think the cash prize is generally less than a card prize, but then you have to want to use it, so I guess it's all relative.

They are forcing me to use their vendors. While having $30 to spend at Starbucks may be nice, you are still paying $4? $5? for a cup of coffee, which in my case I would not do. In my book, that doesn't sound like a great deal, while an actual $5 off my bill, is a good deal... YWIM?

avigailmiriam

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 12:53 pm

Tamiri wrote:

chocolate moose wrote:

Actually I think the cash prize is generally less than a card prize, but then you have to want to use it, so I guess it's all relative.

It depends. I have a savings account for personal purchases at SmartyPig.com. If I put it on an Amazon.com gift card at the end of my purchase, I get 6% more, on top of my interest earned. In that case, it's better to go with the gift card because Amazon has cheaper used books than almost anywhere else.

Also, I have resold my gift cards at face value before, which nets me that extra 6% t keep.

Tamiri

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 12:55 pm

We made concessions when it came to airline miles. We were even willing to pay for those, and did very well. But we never saw the point of taking "gifts". We didn't really buy much from most of what they offered and didn't want to be forced into it. Now, it's a mute point, since I can't use anything they give while I live in Israel. Except the cash, of course.

avigailmiriam

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 1:01 pm

Tamiri wrote:

Book shopping is my and DH's big vice. We have 7 bookcases of used books, and we've read them all between us.

Mrs. XYZ

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 1:07 pm

All our CC are with airline mileage only. It was the most worth it for us.

And from those cc that we checked out before, the cashback was definitely more valuable than the gift cards. I just couldnt understand why anyone would prefer the gifts or gift cards if the cash was worth more. Confused

Tamiri

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 1:20 pm

avigailmiriam wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

Book shopping is my and DH's big vice. We have 7 bookcases of used books, and we've read them all between us.

Then for sure, book points are a great value for you. I am of the "let's go to the library" club. We have bookcases groaning with professional literature, Jewish books, albums, sidurs, machzorim, Torah/Gemara etc sets (we've made 3 bar mitzvas so far) and others full of children's lit. So, I really don't want another book gracing my shelves.
I want cash gracing my accounts.

avigailmiriam

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 2:24 pm

Tamiri wrote:

avigailmiriam wrote:

Tamiri wrote:

Book shopping is my and DH's big vice. We have 7 bookcases of used books, and we've read them all between us.

I have a giant university library at my fingertips that DH and I can use. Problem is, we're the sort of people who write in books, which librarians tend to frown upon.

chocolate moose

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 2:31 pm

Tamiri wrote:

While having $30 to spend at Starbucks may be nice, you are still paying $4? $5? for a cup of coffee, which in my case I would not do. In my book, that doesn't sound like a great deal, while an actual $5 off my bill, is a good deal... YWIM?

I give cards like that for gifts so it wouldn't actually cost me anything.

Tamiri wrote:

They are forcing me to use their vendors.

Okay, granted, it's not free money. But if I had done that a few times, I would have my food processor by now. Sad

Or I could just keep the points in the kitty until I saw twin sets that I wanted at Lands End, or some such.

nicole81

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 2:44 pm

we have a ton of amex points that we haven't redeemed. we have enough for a 5 day vacation saved up. however, we're going to keep on saving. we're hoping to have enough points up by the end of the year to "pay" for an entire pesach vacation.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 2:45 pm

Gift cards to amazon.com or Walmart are the most useful for me, because I can get virtually whatever I need. It's not wasteful spending when I use it on things I'd otherwise buy with my money Smile

doodlesmom

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 3:33 pm

We used to have gift cards but as you said the only thing we would have wanted was Starbucks cards, so now we switched to miles and WOW is it worth it (if you travel,) and if you don't you can usually sell it for $.015 per mile at least which is more than you get in cash back usually.

realeez

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 3:38 pm

We get $20 off at a number of supermarkets that are part of a chain for every $2000 we spend on our CC. Once we hadn't gone to one for quite a while and it was fun to get over $100 worth of groceries for like 2.99!

Fabulous

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 3:49 pm

realeez wrote:

I don't understand how that happened? I thought you got $20 off, not $87

chocolate moose

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 4:24 pm

I made a chart and figured it out. My credit union only gives me 1% back in points which I can spend on cards. It's not the greatest deal there is. For that, I have to amass 7500 points. I'm under 6000 now.

Discover gives more, between 2 % and 5 % back, which is much better, and it's cash every month. But the kicker is, when I buy gift cards from them, from their list of vendors, it's worth more - for example, a Lands End card will cost me 20 from my points but will be worth 25.

I am going to continue to use Discover for the purchases that I can. However, for the incidentail purchases that I make through my other card, I'll still get something back; it's just not the greatest deal there is.

I hope someome learned something from this, besides myself !

realeez

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 4:41 pm

Fabulous wrote:

realeez wrote:

I don't understand how that happened? I thought you got $20 off, not $87

We let it accumulate for a while so we got $100 off and the total price was like $102.99 less $100.

mother48

Wed, Dec 31 2008, 8:12 pm

we have a starwood cc, which you can redeem for hotel stays or airlines. it's great, as it's a big money saver when we travel, and we can stay at nice hotels, which we normally wouldn't be able to afford