Credit card reward Points

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Devendra Kumar saved ₹ 200250 on airline tickets from Mumbai to Raipur when he redeemed the reward points accumulated on his credit card. In his case, these were accumulated on a Payback card, linked to his ICICI Bank credit card.

Dipen Kutty purchased a Nokia Lumia mobile phone worth ₹ 9,000odd for around ₹ 6,000. The rest of the money was paid for by the reward points he had accumulated on his Citibank credit card, from other purchases.

The trick is in knowing how the discount and reward schemes on credit and debit cards work and how to make the most of them.

Reward schemes

Credit and debit cards offer reward points through cash back, cash discount, discount on next purchase, air miles or frequent flier rewards, and fuel point rewards. Points can also be redeemed for gifts and merchandise. One can avail of discounts on credit programmes, which could be available on movie tickets or restaurants.

Many of these discounts are also available for online booking and shopping. Another method is real- time burn offers, which is redeeming the points instantly at the store. Several online stores offer real- time redemption, too.

How points accrue

The way points accrue varies from card to card. In general, card holders get one reward point on every ₹ 150 spent. Apart from regular points, the card provider also offers bonus points. It could be for occasions such as the cardholders birthday, for the first time the card is used or shopping at a partner location. While choosing a card, it is important to compare not only the reward points but also the redemption value of those reward points and opt for the one offering more benefit.

For instance, one card company or bank might offer one point for every ₹ 100, while another might offer three points on every ₹ 150 spent.

Even rules for redeeming the points can be different. One airline card may offer one point equal to one air mile, while another could offer four points equal to one air mile.

Watch the fine print

Reading the fine print and billing statements is the best way to stay up to date with any changes or developments in the reward system

For instance, in case of many credit cards, the reward points accumulated can only be redeemed for purchasing their listed merchandise on their own website. This restricts the choice for the cardholder.

In fuel credit cards, the points can be redeemed only at specific petrol stations and only when swiped at the EDC machine of that particular card provider. Sometimes, this is the condition for getting the accelerated or bonus reward points, too. So, you have to fulfill both conditions, of specific fuel pumps and using the specific machine for swiping to get the accelerated reward points.

In the case of airline cards, discounts might be available only if you book through the partner airlines website and you could miss out on the lowest- priced air tickets available on travel portals. Reward points will not accrue if you are not regular with payments. If you're one of those who's always behind time with payments and have to pay late fees frequently, you might not get any reward points. Hence, a healthy payment record always helps.

Expiry dates are another tricky condition. You might want to save your reward points to redeem against abig- ticket purchase you are planning.

But in case of many cards, the points are available only for one year. If you dont utilise it within that year, they will lapse. In some cases, there could be additional processing fees while redeeming the points

For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call

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