Do you redeem your CC rewards?

[disneysteve]

Money magazine recently reported a survey by GMAC showing that 41% of reward credit card users rarely or never actually redeem the rewards they've earned. I'm surprised the number was so high. What's the point of racking up rewards and never using them?

We're certainly not in that 41%. In 2007, we enjoyed 11 free nights at Marriott hotels with our reward points. Right now, we've got enough points for up to another 7 nights. We probably won't use them all this year but we will definitely use them. We also got $40 cashback from Discover.

The only points we've earned and not yet redeemed are on our AOL Visa. Their cashback is tiered, so the more points you redeem at one time, the higher the value per point. So it is 3,500 points for $25, 6,000 points for $50 and 10,000 points for $100. We've got about 4,300 points now. I'll probably redeem for $50 when we get the 6,000 points. We don't use that card so much so waiting until we hit 10,000 doesn't make sense. Although I could use that card a little more to get up to that reward level and then go back to my Marriott card.

Anyone here sitting on a bunch of reward points that you haven't redeemed? Go ahead and use them. You earned them.

[Snowgirl]

What!! People never cease to amaze me... I use my card for everything just for the rewards, and I get about 400$ per year in gift cards. I usually get cards for store where I shop a lot, thus cutting into day to day expenses. A free 100$ every 3 months feels good!

[rob62521]

I use my rewards as a way to pay on the original bill.

[sweeps]

What's the point of racking up rewards and never using them?

Does that 41% include people who are saving up their points? Someone may not have claimed their rewards in the last year, but it doesn't mean they're not watching them and/or plan on using them.

But having said that, just like with other things financial, people are probably confused on how to redeem the rewards, or they don't want to be bothered by them, or -- perhaps most likely -- they get busy and forget.

[Ima saver]

I get cash all the time. I just ordered a check for $50 and will order another one next month.

[disneysteve]

Does that 41% include people who are saving up their points? Someone may not have claimed their rewards in the last year, but it doesn't mean they're not watching them and/or plan on using them.

But having said that, just like with other things financial, people are probably confused on how to redeem the rewards, or they don't want to be bothered by them, or -- perhaps most likely -- they get busy and forget.

The article didn't give any details. It just said the people redeem "rarely or never." The point they were making is that there are now some cards that automatically send you the rewards when you earn them, like cashback cards that mail you a check as soon as you reach the required number of points so that you don't have to do anything at all.

[illinigamer]

I do the same as you disneysteve. I am in hotels for 40-50 nights per year and rack up the Marriott points. My gf and I love to travel, so we have no problem spending them. We spent 7 days in St Thomas in December and have 4 days booked in Indianapolis this year. What we don't spend we are saving for a cruise.

[Ralph]

Does that 41% include people who are saving up their points? Someone may not have claimed their rewards in the last year, but it doesn't mean they're not watching them and/or plan on using them.

But having said that, just like with other things financial, people are probably confused on how to redeem the rewards, or they don't want to be bothered by them, or -- perhaps most likely -- they get busy and forget.

Guilty as charged on all these points. I think our CC only started giving out points in the last year or so, so I'll have to check how many I have. I'm really guilty of this with Frequent Flier miles. My SIL figured all mine for me a few years ago when we were taking a joint vacation, and she was able to get a free flight out of them. I had just ignored them because 1) I figured they wouldn't amount to much and 2) I have so many other things to worry about it just seemed like too much of a hassle, plus I figured they would be there if I needed them. But, I know they can disappear now, just like all these old gift cards in my wallet... Alright, I'm here now to change my ways! I'm one of those people who just wished money would take care of itself, but I have to change that, don't I?

[disneysteve]

I'm really guilty of this with Frequent Flier miles.

Frequent Flier miles are a problem because they aren't so easy to redeem. I'm sure that 41% includes a lot of people who have racked up thousands of points and haven't been able to redeem them due to all the restrictions the airlines put on using points.

[KatieNK]

I think a lot of people have rewards they wouldn't use anyway. Like if I had a card that gave me sky miles, I probably wouldn't use them since I never fly!

I have a Discover that offers a % that you can use for gift cards or to have the balance sent to you in a check. Seems to take forever to rack up though!

[disneysteve]

I think a lot of people have rewards they wouldn't use anyway. Like if I had a card that gave me sky miles, I probably wouldn't use them since I never fly!

I have a Discover that offers a % that you can use for gift cards or to have the balance sent to you in a check. Seems to take forever to rack up though!

It doesn't make sense to have a rewards card that gives a reward you don't want or need. I don't have an airmiles card because we hardly ever fly anywhere. But we do vacation regularly, so the Marriott card makes sense for us.

As for Discover, the secret with them is to take advantage of the quarterly 5% cashback Get More program. Go to discovercard.com and you can see what the current offer is. I believe the current one is travel rewards - hotels, rental cars, cruises, etc. Sometimes it is gas, movie theaters/rentals, grocery stores, etc. You just need to keep track and use the card for the right charges to maximize your benefits. We hardly ever use ours except for those 5% specials and we got over $40 last year.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I get CC rewards back all the time. I think around $600 in cash last year. And also 2 gift cards from discover. My problem is trying to use all our airline miles. We used to have really inflexible dates of travel so we always had to pay. And thus we accrued tons of miles. But the problem redeeming them!

[Ima saver]

I never use the airline miles ones cause I don't like to fly. I just go for the ones that pay cash. I got $550 off of my new car with my GM card. Now, I am using the Chase business cause it gives me 3% back at home improvement stores. DH charges a lot at home depot!

[KatieNK]

The thing with the 5% back from Discover is that you have to buy whatever it is they tell you to in order to get that 5% back. Most of the time it is stuff I wouldn't buy or can't.

[cptacek]

I have a Chase Visa card that you can redeem 50 points for $50 or you can redeem 200 points for $250. I'm saving them up for the $250...