Why yes, actually I can get cash from it

[Brad Johnson]

My daily driver credit card, a Chase IHG Visa, has stopped offering the ability to use points against my card balance, or to receive the amount as a check. The conversion was roughly 450 points per dollar and it was a nice way to get a freebie now and then. Now, the only way to redeem is to use them against hotel and airfare, buy something in their "Online Store", or apply it to a gift card for one of their approved retailers.

Oh, WalMart is an approved retailer, you say? How about that. Okie dokie, then. Send me a Wally World gift card. Then, I can drive to the WalMart located less than a mile from the house, purchase a money order with said Gift Card, and drive the six blocks to my bank to deposit it. Game, set, match.

Brad

[cordex]

If your goal is to get cash back, $0.50-$1.00 per point depending on category and 450 points per dollar combined with a really roundabout way of redeeming for cash seems ... inefficient.

It is pretty standard to see 1.5%-2% cash back on no-fee rewards cards these days, and redemption is very easy.  I'd personally look into a new card.

[K Frame]

"Send me a Wally World gift card. Then, I can drive to the WalMart located less than a mile from the house, purchase a money order with said Gift Card, and drive the six blocks to my bank to deposit it. Game, set, match."

You eligible for Navy Federal Credit Union? Get one of their cards. They have a number of reward card options. I've got the GO Rewards card. No annual fee, current interest rate is something like 7.9% (that's variable, and risk based), rewards points never expire, I can use them to buy gift cards, pay down my balance, or buy (horribly over priced) stuff from a member rewards site. But, if you arrange to buy stuff THROUGH that same site, you can easily quadruple your rewards (or more) on that purchase.

Points earnings are tiered (restaurants earn you 3x points, gas stations 2x, etc.).

When you cash them in, it's straight 1% -- 100 points equals $1.

[Brad Johnson]

If your goal is to get cash back, $0.50-$1.00 per point depending on category and 450 points per dollar combined with a really roundabout way of redeeming for cash seems ... inefficient.

It is pretty standard to see 1.5%-2% cash back on no-fee rewards cards these days, and redemption is very easy.  I'd personally look into a new card.

Points mostly used for lodging with the occasional dump of unused points for cash. Plus, the card got me an automatic upgrade to the highest suite level available for my reservation period. I could reserve a generic room and they would upgrade me when I checked in. Until now everything has been satisfactory. This change is causing a re-think. The places SWMBO and I like to travel aren't well populated with IHG hotels so the lodging redemption and free upgrade aspects don't have the appeal they once did. Now, not being able to redeem for cash or a credit balance is a much bigger deal.

"Send me a Wally World gift card. Then, I can drive to the WalMart located less than a mile from the house, purchase a money order with said Gift Card, and drive the six blocks to my bank to deposit it. Game, set, match."

You eligible for Navy Federal Credit Union? Get one of their cards. They have a number of reward card options. I've got the GO Rewards card. No annual fee, current interest rate is something like 7.9% (that's variable, and risk based), rewards points never expire, I can use them to buy gift cards, pay down my balance, or buy (horribly over priced) stuff from a member rewards site. But, if you arrange to buy stuff THROUGH that same site, you can easily quadruple your rewards (or more) on that purchase.

Points earnings are tiered (restaurants earn you 3x points, gas stations 2x, etc.).

When you cash them in, it's straight 1% -- 100 points equals $1.

Not navy, but TTUFCU has one. It's on my list to check.

Brad

[Brad Johnson]

Unfortunately neither my bank nor my credit union offered a competitive product. Ended up going with a Chase card that ticked all the boxes (My IHG card is also Chase, but a "partner program" card rather than a Chase-held product). With IHG being a Chase partner there's no real change in IGH discounts/point perks other than the automatic room upgrade. It was a nice touch but no biggie as SWMBO and I use hotels as a place to sleep, not as the destination.

Bumped the card a tier from freebie to one with an annual fee. The bump gets me a significant increase in points accumulation (50% bump on most things, double on gas, and triple on dining). I run everything through the card so the bump in points accumulation means it only takes about two months for points to wash out the annual fee. It also comes with decent perks and discounts not included on the base card, and there is a Concierge service available for any oddball stuff I might encounter.

With Chase being the bank on both products, getting this card was a simple matter of logging into my Chase account, clicking the "Apply" button, and answering two questions (address and income verification). Hit "Submit" and done. Card is in the mail. Total time maybe 30 seconds. It'll take a lot longer than that to get all the account auto-pays swapped over.

Thought about keeping the card active as a bit of added financial safety net but decided against it. I have two other cards for that purpose. I keep them minimally active by using a couple times a year then sticking them back in the dresser drawer. They have no annual fee and the lines of credit are more than enough to deal with any emergency short of societal collapse.

Brad

[zahc]

My Bank of America cards get me 5.25% cash back on most categories (2.65% minimum for any purchases), redeemable as a statement credit. You have to have platinum status though.

[K Frame]

"My Bank of America cards get me 5.25% cash back on most categories (2.65% minimum for any purchases), redeemable as a statement credit. You have to have platinum status though."


Seems to be a paltry reward to essentially giving those satanic bastards your immortal soul, but whatever... 

[Brad Johnson]

My Bank of America cards get me 5.25% cash back on most categories (2.65% minimum for any purchases), redeemable as a statement credit. You have to have platinum status though.

I'm already Premium-Plus Preferred level or higher on all cards (i.e "Platinum Elite" or whatever jargon each bank uses in their parlance).

You might want to double-check your BOA cash back terms and make sure they aren't screwing you on points. I looked at BOA and was eyeballing their 5.25% Choice Category cash back. Enticing, that. However, a bit of scrutiny indicates "Choice Category" means you get to choose one and only one category from the following: Gas, Online Shopping, Drug Stores, Home Improvement & Furnishings, Dining, Travel. It's specifically stated on the BOA credit card splash page. Look under the highest-percent level where it gives the three giant "Earn This Percent!" boxes just under the main images (roughly 1/3 of the way down the page). Everything else falls in significantly lower tiers. I also discovered their Member Level categories are tied directly to the amount of money you have on deposit with them, not to your performance as a cardholder. My banking and savings are satisfactorily established elsewhere so going with BOA didn't get me any more than I am getting with Chase. Besides, I have an issue with their history of questionable business antics. It would have taken supremely advantageous terms to woo me over, none of which they offer in my case.

Brad

[zahc]

a bit of scrutiny indicates "Choice Category" means you get to choose one and only one category from the following: Gas, Online Shopping, Drug Stores, Home Improvement & Furnishings, Dining, Travel. It's specifically stated on the BOA credit card splash page. Look under the highest-percent level where it gives the three giant "Earn This Percent!" boxes just under the main images (roughly 1/3 of the way down the page). Everything else falls in significantly lower tiers.

That's why I have multiple cards. I also got $200 bonuses for each card.... I have one for food, one for "home improvement", and that covers 90% of my spending (I already have the Amazon card for 5% off Amazon). For everything else I use my premium rewards card for 2.6%. I used to have one set for gas, but I hardly buy any gas right now.

My banking and savings are satisfactorily established elsewhere so going with BOA didn't get me any more than I am getting with Chase. Besides, I have an issue with their history of questionable business antics. It would have taken supremely advantageous terms to woo me over, none of which they offer in my case

.

I don't do any banking with BOA. BOA actually doesn't have any branches in my state. I just hold some vanguard funds, that I had anyway, at Merrill Edge. I also got a $600 bonus for moving the funds there...

I agree BOA is shady but most of them are. I actually rage-quit BOA a few years ago, but I went crawling back after I realized they would let me double dip another $600 bonus.

[p12]

I’m using the evil Amazon credit card. A percentage of my charges are used as reward dollars. I usually get 12-30$ a month. Works well with how much I’ve been buying through them of late.