Credit Card Rewards...the joke's on me.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I was saving my credit card reward points towards a new oscillating sander from Amazon via credit card reward gift cards. I've been working at it for about 3 years. According to my calculation, which was based on my last inspection of the reward catalog, I was almost there.

Well, I just checked my latest rewards' offering catalog and was surprised and disgusted. After spending $50K of business thru my card over the past few years, I can only get an electric shaver! You know, the Norelco shaver available a Walmart for about $35.

Of further note, I also had a very hard time to find out where the rewards website was. It seems my credit card company has opted to not put this web page on their main website anymore.

In conclusion...

I'd be willing to sacrafice all my reward points just to let the whole credit system collapse. Perhaps a new and above-board credit system can then emerge.

If you haven't looked at your reward points' offerings lately, I suggest you do so.

-Jeff

[David G Baker]

Haven't used any rewards since I lost my flight mileage points years ago. For myself I have found them a waste of my time and many end up just as you described, very disappointing after spending bucks and time on them. If I still smoked the Marlboro rewards seem to have paid off for some folks. Funny how they change the rules after folks get really involved in chasing the points.

[Chris Padilla]

I used to focus on Discover which pays you actual cash. When you reached $20 accumulated, you simply had it credited back to your account. Now I am all about miles from the airlines (United, specifically) and so accumulate for that. Yeah, sure, they can (and have, I believe) upped the miles one needs for a flight but I picked up a set of free tickets to Hawaii last year for the family so it's been well worth it for us.

[Jason Beam]

i guess not all cards are created equal ....

We're about 2k away from the .01% mark. Once we get over 25k within 5 years, we get cash at 1% - so 250 bucks after 25k. And we're just over 1yr at this point. Buying a house and outfitting my new shop has made it real easy to boost those points. Plus, we pretty much charge everything else we possibly can and never carry a balance. We should hit the 25k line in a couple more months if I keep buyin' tools :P

[Dan Friedrichs]

Jason,

That's 1%, not 0.01%. At 0.01%, you'd only be getting $2.50 for each $25k

I think the cashback cards are the best deal. Usually you can get 1% on all purchases and 3-5% on food and gas.

[David G Baker]

At one time I had an AAA insurance company VISA card that gave me a 5% credit off of every gallon of gas I purchased. When the gas price went up the discount dropped like a lead balloon. I canceled the card. It sure was good for a while.

[Frank Hagan]

I used to focus on Discover which pays you actual cash. When you reached $20 accumulated, you simply had it credited back to your account. Now I am all about miles from the airlines (United, specifically) and so accumulate for that. Yeah, sure, they can (and have, I believe) upped the miles one needs for a flight but I picked up a set of free tickets to Hawaii last year for the family so it's been well worth it for us.

I still have 95,000 miles with United, but I don't travel in my new job and I gave up my rewards credit card ... the interest rate didn't bother me so much because I paid it off each month, but the annual fee got to be too much once I quit putting business expenses on it.

My miles expire at the end of 2009 unless I have some kind of activity in the account, so I signed up for "Miles for Dining". So far, none of the restaurants have credited the mileage program.

Some of the industry watchers are predicting that United won't last past the spring; they appear to be the weakest of the bigger airlines, and spring is traditionally the hardest part of the year for them to make it through.

[Bob Childress]

I have been a Marriott Rewards card member for years and have really found it worthwhile. Can use the points for stays at Marriott, airplane tickets, or redeem for merchandise.

Amex gets me cash back from Costco-enough to pay for my membership each year.

[Rob Russell]

We use both a Marriott rewards card (wife) and US Airways Visa (me). The best way to get value from the frequent flyer miles is to buy a business class ticket to far away destinations like Australia. Those tickets are expensive to buy, the number of points compared to a coach ticket is only about 50% more and - on a long flight like that - you will really appreciate having the better class seat.

[Barry Richardson]

I got a different story. My credit card company gave me a rewards card (at the same rate) when my old one expired, and I didn't even realize it. So now about 3 years later, I discover I have almost $600 worth of points in gift cards, or cash cards. The gift card choices includes Homedepot and Lowes, Best Buy, and a bunch of others. Yahoo! My lack of attention to details finally paid off

[Phil Thien]

The best way to get value from the frequent flyer miles is to buy a business class ticket to far away destinations like Australia. Those tickets are expensive to buy, the number of points compared to a coach ticket is only about 50% more and - on a long flight like that - you will really appreciate having the better class seat.

That is what a friend does. In some cases the points required are nominal enough that it is worth paying cash to buy the points to get the upgrade. Don't ask me how this works, but he does it quite frequently.

[Jim Becker]

Some programs are "real" and others are more marketing...sounds like the one you've been in may be closer to the latter. I've never had a problem with AMEX's program and have benefited from the points for many years. In fact, I'm soon to use them again for something nice.

[Chris Padilla]

I still have 95,000 miles with United, but I don't travel in my new job and I gave up my rewards credit card ... the interest rate didn't bother me so much because I paid it off each month, but the annual fee got to be too much once I quit putting business expenses on it.

My miles expire at the end of 2009 unless I have some kind of activity in the account, so I signed up for "Miles for Dining". So far, none of the restaurants have credited the mileage program.

Some of the industry watchers are predicting that United won't last past the spring; they appear to be the weakest of the bigger airlines, and spring is traditionally the hardest part of the year for them to make it through.

I suppose that could happen as well. Crossing fingers!!

I also have AMEX which give me (Star)points for hotels, miles, etc. but I haven't been focusing on that one lately....

[Jason Beam]

Jason,

That's 1%, not 0.01%. At 0.01%, you'd only be getting $2.50 for each $25k

I think the cashback cards are the best deal. Usually you can get 1% on all purchases and 3-5% on food and gas.

Cripes - where was my head? DOH!

I fixed it - thanks for reminding me where decimal points go :P :P :P :P

[Dustin Lane]

i get a simple 1% refunded every month for all purchases. never wanted to deal with the hassle and confusion of points. i hate point systems and avoid them at all costs.