It’s no secret that rewards points and cashback vouchers help you save money after large or frequent purchases. The good news is, there are now many businesses and financial institutions that offer their own rewards programs. Rewards can come in the form of points, or they can come in the form of cashback vouchers that are given after the customer spends a certain amount. But whatever the rewards system entails, it allows a customer like you to save money or even to treat yourself without spending extra cash. It also motivates you to return to that store or service and continue to patronize them.
Sadly, even customers who rack up a lot of rewards points or cashback opportunities rarely redeem them as often as they should. Perhaps it’s because they don’t keep track of how many rewards they actually have. Or, maybe it’s because they only receive the points in small increments, which are not enough to make a significant discount on their next purchases. The secret to making good on awesome deals from your rewards lies in knowing how to make the program work for you. To explain in detail, here are six useful tips for maximizing your rewards and getting even better value for the things you buy.
Find a Rewards Program that Closely Matches Your Lifestyle
The first thing that you should remember about rewards programs, whether they’re from payment providers or individual stores, is that no two programs are alike. There are different mechanics behind each one, and they’re meant to reward different kinds of purchases. Moreover, some rewards programs may be more useful to you than others. A rewards system that offered gasoline cashbacks would be more valuable to you if you had your own vehicle, versus if you were taking public transportation every day. Your goal should be to enroll in a rewards program that incentivizes purchases you already make on a regular basis. Doing this ensures that you earn a lot of points, and it makes you eligible to earn points more frequently.
Sign Up for a Program That Offers Multiple Types of Rewards
Spending is a lot more fun when you know you can be rewarded for different types of purchases. But signing up for individual rewards programs can get tiring, and you may even lose track of how many you’re part of. Thus, it’s a good idea to sign up for one streamlined program that already offers various rewards from partner merchants every day. That way, you only have to look on one app or website to tally your rewards from different establishments.
Plan Your Purchases around Your Rewards
Some rewards programs out there grant the best rewards for bigger purchases. Therefore, the more you spend on a single transaction, the more points you could stand to receive. For these particular programs, it may be wiser for you to plan one big transaction as opposed to several smaller ones you might make. This is often a good strategy for getting rewards points off of major purchases, like electronics or appliances. Consider planning your purchases around getting big rewards, or have a friend or family member add an item to your purchase. Then, they can just repay you after the transaction.
Tally Your Rewards Points
Out of sight, out of mind is a phrase that often applies to rewards points and cashbacks. If you don’t have a running tally of them, it’s easy to forget just how many of them you actually have. Don’t let them go to waste simply because you forgot you had so many. You can log them somewhere convenient, like in a spreadsheet on your PC. Or, if you’re using an app, remember which screen to visit to see a total number of points you’re eligible to use.
Check the Conditions and Expiry Dates on Your Rewards
Along with how many points you have or how much value you’ve accumulated in cashbacks, it’s important to know how long these are valid. It would be a shame to earn a lot of rewards but lose the chance to actually use them. Thus, it will be extremely helpful for you to take note of when the points or vouchers expire. You can write the dates of expiry down, or set up notifications on your phone to remind yourself to use the rewards.
Refer Your Friends
Another method of earning more from rewards programs is taking advantage of referral bonuses. When you invite friends or family to the same rewards program, you might be eligible to receive additional points or cashbacks. Let them know about the rewards program, and tell them how useful the points or cashbacks have been to you. Then, ask them if they’re willing to be referred by email or to receive a notification from the app.
Now that you know how to manage and accumulate rewards, don’t forget to use them the way they’re meant to be used: on future purchases! Now’s the time to use your points or cashback vouchers on family gifts, discounted meals, upgrades to your work-from-home or online school setup, and more. Find websites that advertise the best deals for your program, or watch out for announcements on rewards from your favorite stores. Maximize your existing rewards, and you’re sure to be rewarded even more!
