Use Credit Card Bonuses on Holidays
Credit card rewards can be redeemed for anything: statement credits, flights, hotels, gift cards, charitable donations, merchandise, and more.
And of course, some of us regularly redeem our cash, points and miles, but many of us don’t even know how many credit card rewards we’ve accumulated, let alone how we want to spend them.
This means it’s time to log into your various credit card accounts, figure out how many rewards you’ve accumulated, and use them.
The holidays are a great time to burn off credit card rewards, whether it’s booking flights, buying gift cards, paying with points when shopping at participating retailers, or using rewards to pay part of a holiday credit card bill. …
Of course, you’ll want to pay attention to the cost of each credit card reward redemption option. Some cards are more beneficial when you spend miles on travel, while others value points differently when used as credits rather than merchandise or gift cards.
For example, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, your points are distributed as follows :
- When you redeem points to redeem cash and gift cards, each point is worth $ 0.01 (one cent), which means 100 points equals $ 1 in exchange value.
- When you redeem points through Chase Pay® for an account statement to cover all or part of a purchase made from participating Chase Pay® merchants, each point is worth $ 0.008, which means 100 points equals $ 0.8 in redemption.
- The ransom cost for other reward options may be greater or less than this.
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Points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for a ride through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program: Each point you redeem for a ride booked through the program costs $ 0.0125 (one and a quarter cents), which means that 100 points are equivalent to $ 1.25. compared to the $ 1 cash ransom cost.
So read the fine print, find out how to redeem your rewards for their maximum value, and then use those rewards to cover the costs of the holiday season. After all, you’ve earned credit card rewards – and they won’t save you money until you pay them off.