Fighting Reward Card Inflation

“Credit card rewards can be a special treat, like a leftover slice of birthday cake. As nice as it is to have that extra slice tucked away in your fridge, it only has value if you get to eat it.”

— US News, “Stop Hoarding Rewards: Inflation Is Coming for Your Credit Card Points”

Last month, the article quoted above hit my news feed, and I couldn’t agree with it more. It cited not only the effects of inflation on stored rewards points just sitting unused in accounts for years (and not earning interest!) but also the eroding redemption value of points from airlines, hotels, and the credit card issuers themselves.

While there are many sites on the Internet that recommend credit cards, I thought I’d share what we do in our household. Over the years, we took some steps to mitigate the impacts of “point inflation” by seeking cards with either cash value or special benefits. 

For full disclosure, Marsha and I are also subject to the issues of “point inflation” with the Chase Ultimate Rewards points we are awarded through our JPMorgan Reserve card (equivalent to the Chase Sapphire Reserve), alongside the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card, which I use to keep expenses separate for my consulting business. We do still have a small hoard of points, which we use primarily to transfer to World of Hyatt but also leave pooled to potentially take advantage of international travel options with other travel partners. Still, we hold this card more for its unique benefits than the pure return-on-investment (ROI) of the Ultimate Rewards points which always seem to decline in value.

To cut to the chase (intentional play on words!), here are the other cards besides our Chase cards (in alphabetical order) that we use that offer either higher cash returns or special benefits on their own.

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