What motivated me to write this blog was when my friend purchased a stereo system using the points he earned from his credit card. He was so excited to share the new that the $180 system cost him Zero dollars because he used the Rewards Points that he accumulated over the past year.
Well, I was happy for him too except that after doing a quick online search I found that his stereo system was only $110, and that if he cashed out his rewards points he could have bought the same stereo system online and still have $70 in his pocket.
I think the whole “Rewards Store” is a scam. They jack up the price, and people overpay for items that could otherwise be bought for a lot less.
My Advice… Always, and I mean always get your cash. This is true for any credit card rewards program whether its a frequent flier miles or anything else out there. People argue that the travel miles are great, and my counter argument is the following: when it’s time to travel and you are getting ready to start looking into buying tickets you are faced with so many restrictions such as availability, prior scheduling and flight times that you rather not use your miles. Hey, don’t you wish you cashed out and now you could have spend that money on the ticket itself (yes, you would have paid 15-25% more) without the hassle of restrictions.