What the credit card companies giveth, they’re more than happy to taketh away. Those credit card reward programs that they dangled like so many carrots when you signed up for your cards are not always as tantalizing once you’re on board. In the wake of declining profits and merchant fees, credit card companies are writing crafty terms and conditions on reward enticements, looking to pull the magic carpet out from under the feet of unwary consumers. If you want to maximize credit card rewards, you need to learn to be wary.
Beware: Mysteriously Shrinking Reward Point Values
Today’s rewards points market raises flags among currency traders. Credit card companies are not required to maintain a fixed ratio for earning points based on the initial credit card contract. Don’t assume that it’s one-point-per-dollar on what you spend or borrow. In lieu of gifting round-trip tickets for a set number of points, one lender instead converted the reward to a dollar-value against travel vouchers. The net result–consumers could need to earn even more points to get a flight, or they could be charged the difference between the raised ticket cost and their dollar-value.
