Redeeming credit card points for gifts is a unique way to help reduce the stress of the holiday shopping season. That could mean redeeming rewards for gift cards, trips, merchandise and more – and an opportunity to keep some cash in your wallet.
You can also earn valuable points and miles on your holiday spending by using Rewards credit cards for all your purchases. And if you take advantage of targeted card offers and discounts, you will avoid overspending your holiday budget.
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Depending on your credit card and card issuer, you can redeem points, miles and get cash back in different ways. Some common redemption options include gift cards, statement credits, and travel. You can also redeem rewards directly for merchandise, but this typically offers less value than other options.
Gift vouchers are popular gifts: they are easy and convenient. Plus, you have plenty of retailers to choose from, including Apple, Amazon, Target, Instacart, Google Play, Best Buy, Cheesecake Factory and more.
Most credit card issuers offer clear gift card redemption values, such as 10,000 points, which equates to a $100 gift card value. However, this can vary depending on the rewards program.
For example, Amex offers to $100 in gift card value for every 10,000 points you redeem. You can redeem 10,000 points for a $100 Olive Garden gift card, but you’ll only get a $70 Starbucks card with the same number of points.
With Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the ratio is typically 1:1; 10,000 points normally equals $100 in gift cards. Chase occasionally offers gift cards where you can get more value from your points, such as redeeming just 900 points for a $10 gift card.
Read more: Amex Points vs. Chase Points: Who Has the Best Rewards Program?
Statement credits and bank deposits
Most cards offer the option to exchange credit card points for statement credits. In some cases you can also redeem points for deposits into checking or savings accounts.
These are some of the most flexible redemption options available. You can make any eligible purchase with your credit card and use a credit or bank transfer to cover it.
The reward ratio for statement credits is typically 1:1, with 10,000 points equaling $100 in credits. However, with Amex Membership Rewards you usually only get $60 for every 10,000 points redeemed.
Consider giving your loved one the gift of a flight or hotel stay. You can use your rewards for travel redemptions, usually through a credit card rewards portal. Most card issuer portals are easy to use for travel booking as they work similarly to platforms like Expedia and Booking.com
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When redeeming travel, a ratio of 1:1 is mainly used (10,000 points equals €100), but this can differ per card. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 25% more value when redeeming points for bookings through Chase Travel℠. So 10,000 points would equal $125 in this scenario.
Many cards offer ways to use points to make online purchases. That could include redeeming rewards for purchases at Amazon.com. With Chase, you can also use your points to pay for all or part of an Apple purchase. For example, you get $100 per 10,000 points when you use the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal to purchase Apple products.
However, we generally don’t recommend redeeming credit card points for merchandise as they often provide less value. For example, on Amazon you only receive $8 for every 1,000 Chase points and $7 for every 1,000 Amex points. You’ll get more value from your points when you redeem them for a statement credit.
If you’re in a giving mood, some cards offer the opportunity to redeem your points for charitable donations. You can make it a gift for someone else by letting them know you’ve made a donation to one of their favorite charities.
By putting all your holiday purchases on a savings credit card, you can earn valuable rewards on purchases you already make.
For example, if you book a $10,000 family vacation with a 2% cash back card, you’ll receive $200 in rewards. That’s not bad for something as simple as moving your spending from debit cards to credit cards.
The best time to earn a credit card welcome offer is when you know you have upcoming expenses.
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If you sign up and get approved for a new rewards-earning credit card, it will likely come with a sign-up bonus with a spending requirement. Sometimes you’ll need to spend up to $4,000 or more within a few months of opening a new account to qualify for a welcome offer.
While that amount of spending may not always be achievable with everyday expenses, the extra holiday spending can help you reach a goal.
Many credit card companies – including Chase, American Express and Citi – offer their cardholders targeted card offers, helping them save money at various stores and retailers. This benefit is available for free on card accounts, but you typically have to select offers before you can take advantage of it.
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For example, you can browse the different Chase offers on Chase.com or in the Chase app and select the offers you want to add to your card account. You must then use the applicable card at the specified retailer to receive your discount. You can find different offers on different Chase card accounts.
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The Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Discover it® Cash Back offer bonus points and cash back on rotating quarterly categories. During each quarter, you can earn bonus rewards in these categories if you activate the promotion.
It’s common for these cards to have categories that tie in well with holiday shopping. Some of the categories we’ve seen in the past in Q4 include Amazon.com, Target and PayPal.
One of our favorite ways to earn extra rewards on purchases is to use shopping portals and reward credit cards while you shop at the same time.
An online shopping portal is a website, app, or browser extension that receives a commission when customers are sent to a retailer’s website and they make a qualifying purchase. The shopping portal then shares that commission with you as cash back or some other type of reward.
Using most shopping portals is free and easy, and it’s worth signing up if you do a lot of online shopping. We find that browser extensions are often the most convenient way to implement shopping portals into our daily shopping routine.
Here are some popular online shopping portals:
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Rakuten
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TopCashback
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Be frugal
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DiscountsMe
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RetailMeNot
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Active junkie
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Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping
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American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping
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Delta SkyMiles Shopping
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JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping
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Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping
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United MileagePlus Shopping
You can’t use multiple shopping sites for the same purchase, so it’s often worth checking a site like Cashback Monitor to see which portal offers the best returns at a particular retailer.
Different types of card protections can help you protect your expensive holiday purchases. Common credit card protections include:
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Purchase protection: Protects eligible new purchases from damage and theft.
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Extended warranty coverage: Typically extends the manufacturer’s warranty for an additional year.
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Mobile Phone Protection: Protects eligible mobile phones from damage and theft.
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Reward rate
- 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
Why we enjoy shopping during the holidays: The ‘earn rate’ makes it easy to earn miles regardless of the category of retailer you buy from, whether it’s dining, entertainment, online shopping or something else.
Why we enjoy shopping during the holidays: Few cards can match the earning potential when making purchases on Amazon.com. Since some people do all their Christmas shopping on Amazon, this is an excellent card to consider.
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Annual fee
$0
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Welcome offer
Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back
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Introductory purchases April
0% Intro APR on purchases for 15 months
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Current purchases April
19.99% – 28.74% Variable
Why we enjoy shopping during the holidays: It offers a generous introductory APR on purchases. If you have large purchases during the holidays, Freedom Unlimited can help you avoid paying interest on those purchases for a while.
Why we enjoy shopping during the holidays: If you prefer to earn cash rewards, Wells Fargo Active Cash offers a simple and rewarding earning rate that works in every eligible purchase category.
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Annual fee
$325
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Welcome offer
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first 6 months
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Advantages
- Earn up to $10 in credits every month when you pay with your American Express Gold Card at Five Guys, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly and Wine.com (registration required)
- Up to $100 in annual credits ($50 semi-annually) when you use your American Express Gold Card for qualifying purchases at US restaurants in the Resy app or Resy.com
- Up to $84 per year ($7/month) in credits after you enroll and pay with your American Express Gold Card at more than 9,000 Dunkin’® locations in the US
Why we enjoy shopping during the holidays: It’s an excellent card for earning rewards on dining and groceries, two popular holiday spending categories.
With a few exceptions, you generally can’t transfer your credit card rewards directly to someone else for free. Chase points can be shared between different accounts of members of the same household.
It is also possible to convert your rewards into points or miles and then combine or transfer them with certain loyalty programs. For example, Hilton Honors lets you bundle free points with up to 10 other members. You can also transfer your points to friends and family members for free.
We recommend using savings credit cards for all eligible holiday purchases as long as you pay off your card balance each month. can provide valuable rewards and protection that you would not receive using cash or payment cards.
Statement credits, gift cards, and travel often provide the best value for redeeming your credit card points. Statement credits are flexible because you can make any purchase and redeem points for a statement credit to help cover that purchase. Merchandise and online shopping typically offer less value and should be avoided in most cases.
This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken
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