Everything About Credit Cards Reward Redemption

The rewards and the exclusive benefits provided by credit card issuers attract a lot of people these days. Even those who are not in a need of credit cards, want to have one due to the reward programs these cards offer. So, just read on to acquire or get an understanding about Credit Cards Reward Redemption.

You might also be aware of these programs or you might have heard people saying that they have a collection of thousands of reward points. But, do you know what you can do with these points? how you can earn them and how they can be used? You can earn these points using credit cards and the process of using these points for making any transactions is known as reward redemption. To know more about credit cards reward redemption, go through the full information provided below in this article:

How To Earn Reward Points on Credit Cards?

With a reward credit card, you can earn reward points on every spend you make. Other than the reward points on regular purchases, some card issuers also provide their customers with bonus reward points as a welcome gift, renewal gift, spend-based milestone benefits, etc.

The Reward credit cards, especially those with an annual fee, generally come with a welcome bonus providing their customers with a good number of points on joining the card membership. Talking about the milestone benefits, you can earn thousands of bonus reward points every year with the cards providing spend-based reward points.

Other than all these benefits, you can earn a lot of reward points through the limited-time offers launched by credit card issuers. All the major card issuers keep coming up with exciting spend-based offers that give you an opportunity to earn accelerated reward points on your spends. You can earn these points if you fulfill the required condition for the same.

Can We Convert Credit Card Reward Points Into Cash?

This is something that many credit cardholders look for as redemption of reward points into cash seems to be a beneficial option to a lot of individuals. However, the answer to this question can be different depending on different card issuers.

Some bank/card issuers allow you to redeem your reward points against cash and some do not provide the option. Sometimes your card comes with an option of reward points redemption against cash but the value of 1 Reward Point can be less in this case.

For example, HDFC Bank provides an option to redeem your reward points into cash but the value of 1 Reward Point for redemption against cash is generally less than its value for redemption against other categories, such as shopping, gift vouchers, etc. But, this is not the same for all card issuers.

Some card issuers may even provide a higher value for redemption against cash and some of them have kept a constant value of redemption against all the categories. You must check with this option on your card issuer’s official site or on your credit card’s most important terms and conditions.

How To Redeem Reward Points?

The credit cards reward redemption process can be different for different card issuers. Some banks give you more options to redeem your reward points for while others give you fewer options. The options to redeem your reward points can be shopping, gift vouchers, product catalog, cashback, travel-related bookings, cashback, etc.

Some card issuers provide you with a different value of reward points for redemption against different categories and some of them have kept the value the same for all categories. For example, your card can offer a value of 1 Reward Point = Re. 0.5 for redemption against gift vouchers, but 1 RP = Re. 0.25 for redemption against cashback. So, it will be beneficial for you to go with the category that can earn you the maximum benefit, which is shopping in this case. Following are the ways to redeem the reward points that you’ve earned using a credit card:

Internet Banking – Almost all the major card issuers provide the facility of net banking to their customers these days. You can visit your bank’s internet banking portal, log in to your net banking account and find an option to redeem your reward points there. You can also check your reward points summary, the number of reward points earned, and other related information there.

Rewards Portal of Your bank – Some card issuers have their own reward portal which is solely aimed at providing the customers with an easy way to earn and redeem reward points. For example, Axis bank’s Edgerewards portal, HDFC bank’s SmartBuy portal, and many more are there. Redeeming your reward points on a reward portal is one of the easiest methods for credit cards reward redemption.

By Calling Customer Care – If you are unable to find the option to redeem reward points through internet banking or there is no reward portal of your bank, you can contact your credit card customer care and request them to guide you about the credit cards reward redemption process.

Important Points to Keep in Mind:

Maximum Cap on Reward Points

Most of the credit cards come with a maximum monthly or yearly cap on the reward points you can earn. You must be aware of this maximum limit so that you don’t expect to earn unlimited points on your purchases.

For example, suppose your credit card provides 10 Reward Points on every spend of Rs. 100 and you spend Rs. 1 lakh in a month, expecting that you will be earning 10,000 Reward Points. But, if your card has a monthly cap of 1,000 Reward points, you can not earn more than that. So, it is better to check for the monthly cap so that you don’t get surprised at the time of redemption as you were expecting a lot more reward points than you’ve actually earned.

Reward Redemption Fee

Many card issuers charge a fee for the redemption of reward points. You can find this fee on the most important terms & conditions of your credit card. You must check for it before redeeming your reward points and make sure that it isn’t higher than the value of the reward points you are redeeming.

Expiry Date of Reward Points

The reward points you earn using your credit cards generally don’t last forever. These points may or may not expire after a period of 6 months/1 year/2 years or any time period. So, you should check for the validity of your reward points so that you can redeem them before they expire. However, some banks offer never-expiring reward points on their credit cards, such as IDFC First Bank, Citibank, etc.

Bottom Line

The reward programs offered by credit card issuers can help you save a lot as you save something on almost all your purchases. These points can not be redeemed against just one or two options but you can use them against a lot of categories of your choice, even against cashback with some cards.

You should keep yourself updated on the reward points you have earned, their expiration dates, etc, and make sure that you redeem your points before they expire. Moreover, you should ensure that you redeem your points against a category that is most beneficial and useful for you. There are many ways to redeem your reward points and card issuers have made it a very easy process nowadays.

If you are still left with any queries, make sure to ask us in the comment section below!