Make Points Add Up

David Knight flies for free. From 1997 to 2002, the 39-year-old former telecommunications consultant charged an average of $6,000 worth of airline tickets, hotel stays, and other incidentals each month on his corporate American Express card, earning him a point for each dollar spent through the card’s Membership Rewards program. Combined with the points he collected through the Delta SkyMiles frequent flier program, the points he accumulated each year were enough for three to four round-trip tickets to the Caribbean. In fact, Knight, his wife, and his grandmother made separate trips to his native Jamaica this year using tickets he had earned.

For credit card holders, these programs are the hot ticket to great escapes, fine dining, frequent flier miles, cash back, and more. According to The Nilson Report, only 35 million of the 300 million active credit and debit card holders in the U.S. participate in a rewards program. So what are you waiting for? We’ll show you what to look for in a card, ways to get the most out of your rewards program, and offer breakout charts on the best programs around town.

OPTIONS APLENTY
Let’s be clear. There is no real difference between calling what you can redeem from these credit card programs rewards, rebates, or even bonuses. It’s just industry lingo, says Curtis Arnold, public relations-marketing director for Cardratings.com in Little Rock, Arkansas. What’s more pertinent, however, is the plethora of awards you can choose from to suit your fancy. BankOne, for example, has an Extraordinary Rewards Platinum Visa card that lets you choose the type of reward you wish to redeem, including cash, air, and brand name merchandise certificates.

As you choose a card, do so wisely. The plan is not to bust your budget to rack up points. Therefore, if you choose a card with a fee, “evaluate that cost in the context of your own spending,” advises Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach, Florida. If you charge about $5,000 each year, it would take almost five years to collect enough points (about 25,000) for a free domestic airline ticket. Using a card with a $50 annual fee, you would in essence pay $250 for the ticket. For more tips on card selection, visit blackenterprise.com/RewardsPoints.asp.

REWARD YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT STRATEGY
When it comes to picking the best card, McBride says: “Best is like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder. Each consumer is going to value things a little differently.” Once you choose, here are some strategies to implement:

Pool your points. Allyson Park and her lawyer husband have individual American Express Gold charge cards linked to the same Membership Rewards account. They collect points rapidly and use them for a range of rewards, from flying to Hawaii for their 2001 honeymoon using 60,000 points, to recently buying patio furniture at Home Depot with 50,000 points redeemed as $500 in gift cards.

Commit to using the card. It’s the only way to collect the points. Park, a communications consultant at Jackson Spalding Communications Management in Atlanta, says that in addition to using her card for all household purchases, she has used it to put a $5,000 down payment on a car and even to pay taxes. “I use the card the same way I’d use cash, but this is better,” she says. “If you use cash, you’re not getting anything back other than the merchandise.”

Have more than one card. “Savvy consumers don’t limit themselves when it comes to rebate cards,” says Arnold. For example, Melvin Carrington Smith Sr., a certified financial planner in Birmingham, Alabama, uses his AAA Platinum Plus Visa card to earn 5% cash back when buying gas, and uses a Citibank Platinum Visa card that earns him 2% cash back on electronics and other household items. He also has a Discover card that he puts into play when he reaches the rebate limit on his other cards. But to get the most out of having more than one card, pay the balance off monthly so as not to incur finance charges.

Combine points from partner programs. Knight, the frequent flier, enrolled in Delta SkyMiles as well as Marriott Rewards as both companies are American Express Membership Rewards program partners. This allowed him to combine points from his various programs to collect more rewards and points.

Get bonus points. These are a great way to add up the rewards. Many cards offer rewards linked to particular vendors. With Discover, for example, you can receive up to double the amount of points if you redeem certificates at vendors like Borders, Blockbuster, and Staples. You can also look for add-ons like Upromise.com or Babymint.com. Simply register your credit cards on their Websites and both will deposit a percentage of your spending into an account that you can link to a Section 529 College Tuition Savings Plan. Also, you can increase the amount of a rebate by taking gift certificates rather than cash.

Programs can be cancelled or altered at any time, so Arnold suggests selecting a program with a proven track record. Also, frequent flier miles and other points sometimes expire, so make sure that you can realistically accumulate enough within the given time period to receive your reward. Simply put: “Points are a form of currency,” says Park. If you play your cards right, the options truly are limitless.