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Earning credit card rewards is still an untroubled task. The challenging task is to have knowledge about the reward redemption criteria and strategies – when to redeem, how to redeem, and where to redeem? Owing a credit card can enhance your purchasing power and on the basis of the credit card you own, you can earn rewards in the form of cashback, reward points, or travel miles. But just earning reward points is half of the work. Any reward points are of value if they are redeemed against some monetary compensation or goods or services. Hence it is important to know how, where, and when should the reward points be redeemed.
Also check: Everything About Credit Cards Reward Redemption
Before discussing about the redemption time and method, we should be well aware about the fact that these redemption policies differ from card to card and bank to bank. Therefore, before planning any redemption, we should once carefully go through the rules and regulations that pertain to the particular card and bank and abide by them.
The credit card points should be redeemed as often as possible or before you plan to cancel your credit card. This is because the rewards that you have earned through your credit card are not for a lifetime. They generally come with an expiry date and hence should be redeemed before they expire. Now if we talk about the best time to redeem credit card rewards, the following points should be considered once before you plan to redeem the credit card points: –
1. Before the expiry of reward points
Just because you have earned reward points through the transactions you have done; does not mean that these points will stay in your account forever. Although the reward points are valid till the time your account is active, there are some points that come with an expiry date. These points hence should be utilized before their expiry.
2. Before cancelling your credit card
If you are planning to cancel your credit card, you should redeem the points that you have earned either for some goods or merchandise or for cash. This is because, upon cancellation of your credit card, all the points that you have earned will go in vain. Another option to retain the points that you have earned is to get a new card before cancelling the previous one. In this way, the points that you have earned on the previous card will get transferred to the new card, and hence you will have all your points with you.
Suggested Read: Should You Close Unused Credit Cards?
3. Availability of travel redemptions of your choice
If you are a frequent flyer and you were looking for some specific flight or hotel deals, which are now available, then you should immediately redeem your points for the bookings. There are some hotels which offer special stays and award nights and get sold out very easily, should be booked through the reward points if they are available.
4. You bumped into a special offer
Sometimes, the rewards program provides some exclusive offers which are hard to miss. Like sometimes, HDFC Bank in collaboration with Apple Inc. provides some exciting discounts and offers which are difficult to miss. Hence, if you come across any such offer and you also have reward points to avail such offer, then go for it.
In the above points we have discussed in detail when should we redeem our credit card points. But a new question that arises to all the new cardholders is how can they redeem the different credit points. Hence the method to redeem credit card points is given as under:-
5. Redeeming Cash Back Rewards
It is the easiest form of reward to be redeemed. The card issuing companies may give you the option to manually redeem the cashback rewards. These are typically awarded as a statement credit or are directly deposited into the card holder’s bank account. Sometimes the card issuers also provide you with an option the redeem the cashback points against some gifts or merchandise. Generally, the card issuers provide a link in the card holder’s net banking account which takes you to the redemption portal. On that page, you will be able to view the total points you own and the cash value against them. Upon clicking to proceed, the cash value of these points will be credited to your account within 5-7 working days.
6. Redeeming Points
As compared to the cashback rewards, there are generally better options in case of points redemption but then it totally depends on the card. The process is pretty much the same as that of cash redemption. You will be redirected to Redeem Reward Points home page after logging in to the net banking. Select the items according to the reward points and there you go. The items selected will then be redeemed against the points that you have earned and will then be delivered to your address.
7. Redeeming Travel Miles
The reward points in the form of Travel Miles are best suited for those who are very frequent flyers. You can get benefits by redeeming your reward points in the form of Travel Miles but the redemption value would differ from card to card. This is the most complicated form of reward redemption because you will have to plan a lot of things before planning a travel. Some cards offer you to redeem your miles rewards with their partnered travel airlines. The redemption process is somewhat the same as in the case of points redemption.
Bottom Line
Now from the discussion done above regarding the redemption of credit card points, we can say that the reward points can be redeemed at any point of time. Whenever you get any specific offer that you had been looking for a long, go for it. The date of expiry of reward points should also be taken care of. Also, go through the rules and regulations of the related companies before applying for redemption as a collaboration of the companies with the card issuer company may change. Hence these points should be considered while opting for redemption.
