Have you checked your credit card rewards points lately? Many of you might be shocked to find out that you have thousands and possibly even hundreds of thousands of unused points because of your credit card use. Every time you swipe that card, you’re racking up points you can use for travel, food, rebates, and many more.

For example, by using a price tracking tool, you found out that a 16-speaker audio system you have been eyeing on is on sale at a certain e-commerce store. You made up your mind a long time ago that you need this particular audio system for the entertainment hub you’re building in your home, so you make the purchase using your credit card. That’s probably more than five hundred grand of credit card charge. Some companies also use this tool to monitor the pricing of their competitors for a particular product. This helps them see if they are pricing their products right or fairly.

The next time your billing statement arrives, check your rewards points. There’s a good chance that your five-hundred-grand purchase just doubled or even multiplied your points. Ask yourself, what do I do with these points? Here’s what you need to do: Go online, open your bank’s website, find the rewards points catalog, and browse the items you can get in exchange for the points you collected.

Membership waiver fee

Some banks charge a small fee annually for your membership in their credit card program. Check your statements to make sure you’re paying that on time because it can rack up interest as well if left unpaid. You can have this membership fee waived based on your rewards points. Just call the bank’s hotline number and tell the operator that you want to use your points to waive the annual fee.

Rebates

Rebates come as a credit to your account or are sent as payment to your savings account. This is a small percentage of the amount you charged to the card. Depending on your card, you can redeem the rebates any time or only when you meet a minimum required amount, which typically starts at $25.

Miles

You can also earn mileage points on credit cards that formed partnerships with airlines and travel agencies. This is the best credit card for frequent flyers and businessmen or those who stay in hotels frequently. The points can be redeemed as miles either through an authorized booking center or issued as gift cards that you can give to your family or friends.

Dining and shopping options

Depending on how big of a credit card user you are, collecting points can bring you to the finest hotels and fine dining restaurants. If you love dining out, you should choose a credit card that offers cash back rewards every time you charge food purchases to it. Some credit cards even offer to give you back a small percentage of your total charge if you use it in a certain grocery store or restaurant.

Being financially literate means maximizing your credit card rewards points so that you can reap the benefits of using those little plastic cards. Although they charge interest on every purchase you make, it’s still nice to get something out of all those shopping sprees you’ve been having.

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