Take Advantage of These Unexpected Rewards of Points Credit Cards

Credit cards are more than just a spending tool. Today, they have become an important part of many people’s financial portfolios, offering rewards and incentive programs for those who use them regularly. There are tons of different types of credit cards out there to choose from, including rewards credit cards that offer points, cash back, and more.

While miles cards and cash back rewards credit cards are pretty self-explanatory, points credit cards don’t often get as much use as they could. That’s because people often don’t understand the points programs or how to maximize their benefits.

When you have points credit cards, there are several different ways you can use the benefits. This depends on the card you choose, but you’ll find tons of great, unique rewards you might not expect.

Referrals and Sign-Up Bonuses

Many points programs will give you additional points for referring people or signing up for various programs. You can use these points for all kinds of redemptions, and it’s a good way to maximize the points that you earn.

Shopping Portals

Some rewards points programs use a dedicated shopping portal where you can redeem your points for various purchases. Instead of having to figure out where and how to get your points turned into cash, there’s a single place to visit for redemptions. This can limit what you have access to buy, but it makes redeeming points easy.

Online Retailers

There are some rewards credit cards that link directly to online retailers like Amazon, allowing you to use your points towards those purchases. There may be restrictions on where and how you can use the points, of course, so keep that in mind.

Gift Cards

Many credit card reward programs allow people to accrue points that they can then use to purchase gift cards from retailers, restaurants, and more. Points will be worth a certain value or the cards will be “priced” based on how many points they cost to redeem. You might be able to get a five-dollar Starbucks gift card for 10,000 points, but a $50 Target gift card may cost 100,000 points, for example.

Sweepstakes

Another option that is available with many credit card point programs is the sweepstakes format of rewards. In this structure, you can trade your reward points for entries in various sweepstakes, which all have their own prizes attached. Some people don’t like these kinds of programs because they take more work to get rewarded, but they’re well worth it for those willing to put in the effort.

Donations

Some credit card companies have donation programs in place for their points earners. This allows you to use your points to donate to a charity, which may be chosen by the card provider or may be one that you can choose on your own. You can search specifically for this perk if you’re interested in it.

Statement Credits

Cash back credit cards are more notorious for the statement credit, but points credit cards can offer this in some cases, too. They will allow you to accrue points and then assign a dollar value to the points. This dollar amount can then be translated into a statement credit. For example, 50,000 points might earn you a five-dollar statement credit (not an actual example).

As you can see, there are a lot of great ways that you can put rewards points to use. It all depends on the card you choose and the programs available, but you certainly don’t have to let those points go to waste.