Just ordered $100 check from CC

[disneysteve]

I was just filing the statement from our Chase rewards Visa and I happened to look at our reward credit balance. We have over 12,000 points. So I went to the website to see what that was worth and redeemed 10,000 points for a $100 check. Cool.

This is not our main credit card (that's our Marriott card) so I honestly don't pay a whole lot of attention to this one. Nothing wrong with $100 cash, though. I'll take that.

[Ima saver]

I have a chase rewards mastercard. I usually get a $50 check from them each month. Of course, I pay it off each month; but I enjoy the free money!

[disneysteve]

I thought of you, Julie, when I did that. I knew you used one of those cards regularly. We don't but I have a few regular bills that get charged automatically to that card and it adds up over time. Most of our CC usage goes on our Marriott card to earn us free vacations.

[creditcardfree]

Nice!

[feh]

Chase is the only CC we have, and we always end up w/ $25-50 back each month.

[bjl584]

I haven't used my credit card in over a year. I should start taking advantage of some of these rewards programs, but I just hate the idea of using plastic.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by bjl584

I haven't used my credit card in over a year. I should start taking advantage of some of these rewards programs, but I just hate the idea of using plastic.

As long as you have the discipline to use your cards responsibly, not using them is basically throwing away money. In addition to this $100 check, earlier this month, we cashed in Marriott points for two free nights in Connecticut which saved us nearly $200, so that's $300 just this month by using our cards.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

As long as you have the discipline to use your cards responsibly, not using them is basically throwing away money. In addition to this $100 check, earlier this month, we cashed in Marriott points for two free nights in Connecticut which saved us nearly $200, so that's $300 just this month by using our cards.

The one CC that I do have doesn't have rewards, so that's probably why I don't think much about using one for said purpose. I have no CC debt, and am definitely responsible enough to pay the balance in full each month. I should start looking into some cards that have rewards linked to them.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Originally Posted by bjl584

The one CC that I do have doesn't have rewards, so that's probably why I don't think much about using one for said purpose. I have no CC debt, and am definitely responsible enough to pay the balance in full each month. I should start looking into some cards that have rewards linked to them.

If you're responsible enough to pay your credit card bills in full and on time each month, there's absolutely no reason to NOT be using a rewards credit card for all your expenses.

There are a lot of no annual fee credit cards on the market right now offering pretty good cash back programs, and many are even offering bonus programs for the holidays. The Chase Freedom and Discover More cards are both great options you might want to look into.

[wincrasher]

My Amex Blue card now lets you link to your Amazon account. You can spend your points in the Amazon store just like cash. It shows up as one of your payment choices, just like your credit cards. Very convenient. I'm now trying to buy everything I can on Amex to increase my points.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

My Amex Blue card now lets you link to your Amazon account. You can spend your points in the Amazon store just like cash. It shows up as one of your payment choices, just like your credit cards. Very convenient. I'm now trying to buy everything I can on Amex to increase my points.

Be careful with that- the redemption value for membership rewards points on Amazon.com is really low compared to your average rewards program. The going rate is about .07 cents for every membership rewards point. That's a 30% discount off what most credit card users like to shoot for when redeeming points.

[wincrasher]

Hmmm... I saw it as a good deal. The valuation (dollars/points) was about the same, but the prices for goods on Amazon was ALOT lower than the prices in the Amex store.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Hmmm... I saw it as a good deal. The valuation (dollars/points) was about the same, but the prices for goods on Amazon was ALOT lower than the prices in the Amex store.

Prices may be cheaper on Amazon, but my point is other credit issuers are offering much better redemption values if you're not totally attached to your Amex Blue card. Anything less than 1 cent for a point is subpar. But if you have a ton of membership rewards points and nothing to do with them, then I could see why you would be happy about their new partnership.

[graceful]

Thanks for the reminder DS!!

I had some points sitting there unredeemed. Had $100 direct deposited into bank account and requested about $150 in Barnes & Nobles GCs. The redemption rate for the $100 cash was 10000 points. I could get the $100 BN gc for 9000 points and the $50 BN gc for 4500 points. So, a little better rate than cash if you were going to buy something there anyway.

We are getting our older DD a nook for Christmas and thought giving her the $100 GC to B&N would be a good idea so she can purchase the ebooks she wanted too. I may either give the $50 one to our younger DD for books for Christmas or save it for older DD's birthday in January.

[graceful]

Originally Posted by JoshuaHeckathorn

Prices may be cheaper on Amazon, but my point is other credit issuers are offering much better redemption values if you're not totally attached to your Amex Blue card. Anything less than 1 cent for a point is subpar. But if you have a ton of membership rewards points and nothing to do with them, then I could see why you would be happy about their new partnership.

I have an Amazon Visa card through Chase also. I get 3 points per dollar spent when I use my card to buy from Amazon. 1 point elsewhere. I no longer redeem for Amazon GCs. I use the CC and get the 3 points per $1, then when I redeem, I usually request cash or a credit to my card balance.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I always redeem my cash rewards as soon as they allow. I don't let the money accumulate.

[Hector]

thats why I like credit cards
from my cards,
chase professional give 3% cash back on restaurant, gas and a couple other categories. 1% elsewhere
citicard give me 5% cash back on different categories (categories change every qtr). 1% elsewhere
capital one gives 1.25% on everything

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

I always redeem my cash rewards as soon as they allow. I don't let the money accumulate.

Some reward plans tier the reward structure so that it is to your advantage to let points build up before redeeming. For example, it might be 15,000 points for $10, 25,000 for $20, 45,000 for $50 and 80,000 for $100. By waiting until you have 80,000 points, you get a lot more value for your points.

[PaydayLoner]

My parents have some rewards cards they've kept for 10-20 years, so the average age of their cards is high. They apply for new reward cards with big bonuses, then cancel after a year or so, and apply for a different card with a different bonus. It doesn't hurt their credit score more than a few points, since they've got no debts and pay everything off and keep the old cards, but they get all these zillions of points. Like, literally, 25,000 points here, 50,000 points there, for hotels and travel.