Are You Still Not Getting Your Rewards? Part 3

If companies want to know why their rewards programs are not as successful as they think they should be, they should consider the fact that they might not be giving what they promised.  I tend to give up on rewards programs when I have to audit them to see if they are really working.

As you already know, I now have 2 cash rewards cards with the same company and both cards give me cash rewards.  The rewards vary depending on whether I am purchasing gas, groceries, restaurant meals, or other categories.  Some categories have a bonus percentage of cash for a limited time.

Now that I have used my new card and received my first statement, I went to check on the rewards.  The transaction history states that I did in fact get rewards, however, they are not the rewards that were promised.  On items that should have received 3% I only received 2%.  On items that should have received 2%, I only received 1%.  All purchases should at least received 1% and I think that they do - so far.

So now I have to call and find out why there is a discrepancy.  I'll have to follow up later with the response.  I have several questions as well.  How do they determine groceries if stores sell everything from groceries to televisions?  The gas station is also a convenience store.  I only buy gas 99.9% of the time, and yet I get the percentage cash rebate as if I bought groceries loosing 33% of my rebate.

My list of cautions on rewards programs is growing. When it comes to credit card or retail rewards programs, make sure you know what you are suppose to get and know how to tell if you are actually getting your rewards.

Cautions on Rewards Programs:

     1. Rewards you will never use, are not rewards.
     2. Rewards you don't actually get, are not rewards.

Related Posts:
      Are You Getting Your Rewards?
      Are You Getting Your Rewards? Part 2

Are You Getting Your Rewards? Part 2

I have a follow up to my post about my credit card rewards from earlier.
You can see the original post here Are You Getting Your Rewards?

A week after I received my new rewards credit card, I received a phone call from the credit card issuer.   The customer service agent confirmed that I had received my card and had general information about the rewards program.  I explained that the new card looks exactly like the card I already had and wondered why they would both have the same logo for the rewards program but have different rewards.

That was the problem that started this whole thing.  I called to inquire about why my rewards were not the same as the ones advertised and I was told I would have to get a new card.  This new customer service agent however, said that they could have just converted my existing account to the new rewards program.  I of course agreed that that made sense and was what I originally had hoped to accomplish.   The agent upgraded my first account to the new rewards program as well.  In the process however, we also noticed that the interest rate on the new card was not a low as the first card.

Now I have two cards with the same company and the same rewards and my credit line split between the two cards.  Having two cards is actually fine with me since I basically have a back up.  I pay my credit cards off in full every month so the interest rate difference is not affecting me right now.  But the fact that the company issued a new card under the promotion of a new rewards plan and increased my interest rate without mentioning it to me, is very frustrating.  I have to wonder if that was the intent of the first agent.  I don't really know if the first agent was not knowledgeable to resolve my original issue, or if the first agent took advantage of the situation to earn credit for issuing a new card with a higher interest rate.  Remember that the agent had told me that I could call back after I receive the new card and have them transfer the remaining credit line to the new card and close the old account.   That seems like a lot of unnecessary work for me and for the company, but not if they get more interest paid to them in the long run.

Caution: Beware of rewards promotions and make sure that your rewards are not costing you more in some other way.  If I carried a balance on my credit card and paid interest each month, I would now be paying interest at a higher rate of 2 or 3% above the old card while I get a range of 1%, 2% or 3% on various purchases.  There are some bonus periods where I get up to 5% on specific types of purchases.  I think I would end up paying them more than my rewards over time in interest if I didn't pay off the credit card each month.

Rewards programs are promotional gimmicks to compete for purchases and use of credit cards.  Low interest rates don't entice you to actually use your card.  Even if you use your card and pay it off each month, the credit card company makes money on the fees each time you use the card.  The rewards are just a way to share some small percentage of those fees with you.  Points you will never use are not rewards.  Cash back cards that give cash back but charge you higher interest are not rewards.

Basically, rewards are not free.  Rewards that you actually use that don't cost you additional funds to earn can be beneficial for both you and the credit card company giving a mutual, not equal, benefit to both of you.   Personally, I like actual cash back cards on cards I can use for anything and everything.  I am not good at getting the benefit of my rewards points on various programs.  By the time I get enough points, they are about to expire or I don't have time to customize my shopping to use them.