I recently looked at each of the credit cards I opened up last year to determine which ones I should no longer use. I had some rewards points that it was time to cash in, so I decided to toggle between a few redemption options. The difference between how you use your points could cost you hundreds of dollars. Literally.
How I Saved Optimized Redemption of Rewards
For this post, I am going to show eligible rewards options for my Barclays Arrival + card.
I had recently received the 10,000 points for everyday purchases I had made on my credit card. Spending, for me, is not the most fun of things, but saving money is always nice! It was time to begin looking at the most optimized ways to cash in my points.
Below I am going to outline four different options that were available. Note, there are many more options than these four, but wanted to use it for context.
First Option – Amazon Gift Card
Who doesn’t love Amazon? I actually don’t because I work for their largest competition, but this was an option on the site. Here is how the breakdown for redeeming for an Amazon gift card worked out:
For 10,000 points, I would be able to redeem my points for $50 in Amazon gift cards. Not too shabby. Let’s look at other the other options.
Second Option – Cash Back!!!
C’mon man! Who doesn’t like some straight cash homie! Time to look at what the redemption options are for receiving cash.
Ok, 10,000 points redeemed for $50 in a cash statement credit. Again, not too bad, but let’s look at one more option!
Third Option – Points For Travel Expenses
The last option I wanted to look at was receiving statement credits for redeeming for travel. Time to look at what the redemption would look like for this.
What!?!?! $100 for redemption of 10,000 points! That is double what the potential of the first two options were. This was a no brainer. I will take the $100 credit all day.
Key Takeaways:
- There are many ways to redeem your points!
- Many times, the company you are redeeming the points with will try to sell you on the lesser of the options. Don’t be fooled!
- If you are lost, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call the company. They should be able to walk you through your options to help you get a better understanding.
