How to Keep Your Expiring Travel Reward Points
Credit Card Rewards Programs have become increasingly more flexible in the last few years, particularly when it comes to travel rewards. Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, travel–particularly international travel–has dropped drastically. The reality is that the last few years have not been conducive to travel, and many travel rewards points have gone unused.
The good news is that most major credit card companies have adapted to better accommodate users during this time.
Most credit card companies have suspended expiration dates of travel rewards as long as the account remains active. Additionally, as long as you remain a loyalty member for the airline your travel rewards points are earned under–such as Delta or American Airlines–your travel rewards will not expire or disappear.
Most credit card companies have also started allowing users to convert their points or miles into another form of reward. Even if your points or rewards are not in danger of expiring, you may be able to convert them into a format that you are more likely to use.
American Express will allow you to convert your points into miles or into a gift card, or you can even use points to pay for qualifying online purchases.
You can also donate your points to one of four charities sponsored by American Airlines.
Chase allows you to earn points that can then be used to pay for qualifying purchases through Amazon and Paypal or converted into gift cards with over 175 brands. Chase will also allow sharing and pooling of points between spouses and family members, but this program has been limited within the last year so additional terms and conditions may apply. Chase also has a new Pay Yourself Back program that has some interesting perks for Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred users.
Citi allows users to use their points for travel, shop online with them, or convert them into cashback or gift cards. Additionally, Citi users can now shop with their points in store at participating CVS stores.
Discover allows rewards to be converted between cashback and airline miles with a rate of 1 mile for every 1 cent in cashback earned. In the past, Discover has also had the option for users to donate their rewards to charity, but that program is not active at this time.
Maximize Credit Card Rewards with Kiwii.
Credit card rewards programs are more flexible now than ever which means there is a way to save for everyone. In our next blog, we’ll be looking at the pros and cons of each type of reward program to help you decide which type is right for you. No matter what type of points or rewards program you use, make sure you are getting the most out of it with Kiwii. Kiwii is free, easy-to-use, and completely secure. No personal information or credit card information is required. All you do is tell Kiwii the types of credit cards you use, and Kiwii will alert you to possible rewards as you shop online.
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This article was written by Chloe Allen in association with Nouvel Age Media.