Using Reward Programs To Your Advantage

I recently discussed my use of credit card reward programs to get a little cash back on the purchases I make everyday. I obviously don’t spend a lot of money, as you can tell from my income/expense reports, but on the little bit of money I do spend I certainly won’t pass up the chance at receiving a little extra cash in my pocket.

I also participate in a reward program at my work. Every month I get a chance to rack up reward points based on certain performance parameters that I meet or exceed. I have racked up over 60,000 reward points since the beginning of the year and I have saved most of them for the holiday season. For reference, 10,000 points equals approximately $50.00 worth of goods. I purposely saved up most of my points so that I could give gifts from this reward program instead of purchasing items.

This reward program is actually pretty great. The catalog from which I can search for goods and items is pretty expansive. I can find just about anything on there. I can redeem my points for items ranging from televisions to barbecue grills to clothes. I can then ship these items to anywhere in the U.S. Think of it as an Amazon.com that uses points instead of cash as a medium of exchange.

With Christmas just around the corner I decided to finally cash in my points and exchange them for gifts for loved ones.

I used some of my points to give this nice T-Fal 10-piece pot and pan set to my significant other. Although this doesn’t sound like much of a gift, her pans and pots are very old and completely worn out. I gave her a chance to pick from anything listed in the catalog and this is what she picked. I’ll still likely get another small gift, but this is a really nice pot and pan set that was free to me.

I also cashed in some reward points to get my parents a nice massage table they specifically asked for for Christmas. Another really nice item that costs over $100, but again is completely free to me due to my maximum use of a program that is offered to me as an optional resource at work. There are a lot of people at my work that don’t participate in the program. Free stuff definitely perks my attention!

I could have chosen to redeem my points for a new bike, or a small laptop for myself…but I need very little stuff. It’s my opinion that more stuff = less life. I’d rather redeem these points for gifts and save myself the money I would have otherwise used to purchase goods for Christmas.

Do you use reward points to the best of your ability?

Thanks for reading.

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16 Comments

  1. That’s great to hear – I felt like I was just about the only person doing that kind of thing. I will have a couple of hundred dollars in gift cards to buy presents with or give. My money is very tight at the moment, so it means a great deal.

  2. Alison,

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

    You’re definitely not alone! My best friend actually has the same job I have, except in a different state. He also uses reward points to purchase gifts sometimes.

    Best wishes!

  3. I love saving up my rewards points. We’ve been able to save literally $1,000s on airfare this year by using our points.

    Now if only I had a rewards program at work like you Mantra!

  4. Since I signed up for PerkStreet, I paid off my credit card monthly using PerkStreet. I got 1% for paying off my credit card (AMEX reward card) monthly that I would not get if I pay off using online bill pay from my credit union.

  5. Not sure if this can be done in the US, but in Canada, I have a card through my bank that has rewards points that can be used to purchase RRSP contributions (this is a retirement plan that is a tax deduction).

    All my purchases go on my card, which earns reward points, and I pay off the balance every month before interest is earned. While the card has an annual fee of $80, I earn enough points every year to get $300-$600 in RRSP donations. So not only is this $300-$600 cash in my retirement account, it’s also a tax deduction. I’m paying $80 a year to make about $400-$800 (including the value of the tax deduction).

  6. Mantra,

    Great work. That is awesome. 🙂

    We use our AMEX, and have received some great rewards through their program. Most recently, (and don’t tell the wife), but I just cashed in our points for a $50 Ruth Chris gift card for dinner date on our Anniversary.

    Take care,

    DividendPartisan

  7. DSO,

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

    Great job on the airfare rewards. I don’t really travel enough for that kind of program to benefit me, but may need something like that once I reach FI and have a little more time on my hands.

    I’m lucky with the reward program at work!

    Take care and keep in touch.

  8. Joe,

    I could have saved up a few more points and landed an iPad or something, but I’d really rather get some things that my loved ones want. My parents asked for a massage table and I figured for sure that my catalog at work wouldn’t have that available…but they sure enough did. Surprised the heck out of me!

    Take care this holiday season!

  9. Rene,

    Great job on the reward program. I also participate in a couple 1% cashback programs, and my Chase Freedom card has 5% quarterly bonus cashback programs on certain transaction types.

    Nothing better than free cash!

    Thanks for stopping by.

  10. Neu Grufti,

    Wow. I’m not aware of anything like that available here…but that sounds great for you! Keep up the great work. That’s a lot of cash in your pocket.

    Best wishes.

  11. Partisan,

    Great job man. That sounds like the way to go, and some steak from Ruth’s Chris sounds like a nice time. Have fun! I promise I won’t say anything. 🙂

    Take care.

  12. Kanwal,

    Great job! I do the same thing. I make every single purchase I can on a rewards credit card. The points do add up. Even if it’s an extra $25 every couple months, it’s money in the pocket.

    Best wishes.

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