Last week, my mail included one of my favorite things that travels to me via the postal service: a DSW reward certificate. 
Yes, $10 off the next pair of pumps, wedges or sandals I purchase at the discount shoe store.
Rewards are my favorite. Seriously, if a store offers a rewards program, there's a good chance that I: 1) have the keychain barcode, etc. needed to participate and 2) patronize the store. Particularly, I enjoy:
- ACE® Rewards card , for points on purchases
- The PetSmart® PetPerks card , for in-store savings
- The RecycleBank® offered by my garbage service for discounts and coupons
- Ebates , for cash back at select online stores
Now, rewards can be a double-edged sword. Yes, they're helpful to the consumer, but if you don't think about how you're using them, you may end up getting yourself into trouble.
To help you through the fabulous world of rewards, here are a few guidelines to make sure you reap the most benefit:
- If you don't actually need something, don't buy it just for a reward. Notice that my favorite rewards are for things that I need/do anyway. For home improvement needs, I already go to my local ACE. Litter for Bill the cat is something I purchase at PetSmart. Buying unnecessary items to get a reward is not very sensible.
- Don't charge what you can't pay off that month, just to get a reward. This is one thing you should consider when thinking about credit card rewards. While it's nice to get points or a discount for purchases you make on a credit card, if you can't pay off the purchase before it starts being charged interest, you may be paying more than the reward is worth.
- Watch reward expiration dates. If you get a reward you obviously want to redeem it, so make sure you know if/when it expires. But remember my first tip: Don't buy something you may not really need just because the reward is going to expire.
- If the reward is something you pay for, like a store membership, make sure it saves you what it costs. Back in the day, I became a Barnes & Noble member. But at the end of my year-long membership I hadn't really purchased enough to make the membership worthwhile. Sigh. Everyone got books for Christmas that year!
Do you have any tips for making the most out of rewards programs? What are your favorites?
Oh, and it just so happens I will be venturing to Omaha this weekend and may have to swing by a DSW store. (Sioux Falls doesn't have one...DSW executives, if you're reading this, I can help you scout locations!)
Now, to find a shoe I actually need...hmmm, my rules might not apply to DSW rewards! Well, for the sake of shoe lovers everywhere, I hereby declare DSW an exception. Just try to make sure the shoes you do buy are on sale!
Well, Wells Fargo just turned its Reward Program into a ripoff operation. Just got my June credit card statement and it announced that 2,843 points had expired last month and that 510 more would expire this month. But there was nothing on my last month's bill about points expiring. Now, I knew that I been repeatedly told that I had some points expiring December 2009, and planned to redeem those before then, but Wells Fargo saw an opportunity to steal back some promised benefits. Turns out they snuck some small print into the April bill about changing the expiration from 5 years to 60 months, and rather than wait until points would expire anyway decided to schedule it for mid-year. And the bank didn't think it necessary to point out that this meant points would be expiring sooner than it had previously said. Full page ads in the bill urging me to earn points, but nothing about the upcoming loss of six months worth of points until after they'd cancelled them. Thank you, Wells Fargo!
Hi Andrew, The Wells Fargo Rewards program has changed a bit, and the change was detailed in customers' April statements. I'm sorry for any confusion this change may have caused. If you have other questions about the rewards program you can call 1-877-517-1358.
I have a question about points expiring. My points summary says I have 34,708 points and that 1,988 will be expiring between now and 4/30/13, but it doesn't actually say when. How do I figure that out?
Sean, you can call customer service at 1-800-642-4720 to inquire about your points.
I think a ripoff operation is a bit harsh, but it is certainly a devious way for Wells Fargo to claw back points!
I had over 20,000 points removed from my account over the past 4 months - 12,000 of them in one hit - ouch!
No mention of this by email or on my bill - just a reducing points balance. Would be nice to send a warning note out first.
Ah well - time for a new Credit card I think.