Claim Credit Card Rewards – Step By Step

In case you prefer credit cards over debit cards to make your day-to-day transactions, you might be sitting on a pile of rewards already. Every Credit Card comes with a certain rate of rewards be it reward points, or cashback which gets triggered upon an expenditure of a set amount which is different from bank to bank. Rewards are one of the reasons why user prefer credit cards since it indirectly gives you value back on your money spent. Apart from all these a credit card can also give you greater ease of utility and convenience.

Rewards are used to encourage users for them to make greater use of Credit Cards. People who are not aware of these benefits usually miss them even after having credit cards. Once there are enough reward points accumulated, you are given a reward or a certain benefit of your choice. These benefits can be vouchers from different partnered brands with your card issuer, discounts, or cashback.

Ways of Reward Redemption

The different ways of redeeming your rewards points are –

• Online Banking is one of the most convenient ways of redeeming your reward points. This process is one of the most secure and gives the customer a sense of security of nothing going wrong.
• Some banks might also take your redemption request over the phone where you can call the customer care of your bank and redeem your points. This procedure is good for people who are not tech-savvy and might not be aware of everything linked to the internet such as elderlies.
• There might be some stores of different banks that have direct tie-ups with the bank and through them, you can directly redeem the points for something you liked in the store. This option is great for people who are negligent of their reward points as with shopping they can also redeem their reward points.
• There are banks such as Citi Bank which lets you redeem your reward points instantly with the help of SMS.

What can you redeem your reward points for?

There is a variety of benefits and rewards you can get against your reward points. These can vary from bank to bank and also from card to card. The list presents all the following which you can choose from –

• Merchandise– Financial institutions are mostly in partnership with brand names with which you can redeem your reward points. These brands can be of different categories such as electronics, home appliances, phones, perfumes, home décor, clothing, footwear, personal grooming products, travel accessories, etc.
• Vouchers– You can also redeem your rewards against the brands you fancy. These brands can also be luxury brands and you can use your rewards to pick up a voucher for the same. These vouchers can be used in various participating brands and you can find the list in the catalogue.
• Air Miles and Hotel Points –You also have the option of converting your reward points into air miles and hotel points. With this, you can pay a portion of your tickets and room bill with the help of your rewards.

All these options are given to you in most cases but the air miles and room miles might or might not be present in different credit cards.

How to redeem Reward Points?

Once the reward points are accumulated, it is necessary to redeem them as reward points have an expiry date (not with all the cards). However, redeeming the credit card rewards is a very easy process to begin with. The steps can be different from bank to bank but most of them are the same. There are different methods for redeeming your credit card rewards but online redemption is the most convenient way out of all. Most banks will deliver your product or redeemed item to your doorsteps.

You get various options as to how your wish to redeem your credit card reward points. Out of all the options in the catalog, with some credit cards, you also get to convert your reward points into air miles. These air miles points can help you pay a part of your tickets and even for your stay at partnered hotels.

There are some loyalty programs as well that can give you points-plus-pay options such as with HDFC bank. With this, you can use the points and pay the balance to get what you want. While there can be other programs where your annual fee can be waived in exchange for reward points.

The steps to redeem your points with the bank are as follows –

Step 1 – First you will have to log in to your net banking portal/account on your Banks website.

Step 2 – Once entered you will be able to see all your details such as your accumulated rewards points where it says “rewards” click on that.

Step 3 – After going to the rewards, you will be able to see the catalog open and you will have many options.

Step 4 – You can choose any one of the options presented over there and further continue to redeem your reward points.

This process might be different from bank to bank.

Conclusion

Using credit cards for every big or small transaction can help you accumulate lots of reward points. These reward points can further be redeemed against different categories of products and things you wish for. The reward redemption catalog can have different brands and their products including all home appliances, clothing brands, perfumes, electronics, and vouchers against the luxury brands or the brand you may fancy. One of the best redemption options is the conversion of reward points into air miles and room miles, this is very useful for people traveling a lot.

The reward redemption process can be slightly different from bank to bank but the major steps go by the above-mentioned process. There are many ways through which you can redeem your rewards and online redemption is the best out of all every other way has its significance.