Getty Images
The coronavirus pandemic has changed many facets of life, and how you use rewards credit cards may be one of them. If you’ve been hunkered down at home over the past year, you haven’t been racking up many points or miles on travel purchases or exchanging rewards for flights and hotel stays.
During the pandemic, some issuers have juiced up travel rewards cards by providing temporary rewards in categories more in line with how consumers have been spending their money offering extra cash back or points when you spend on groceries, gas, home improvements or takeout orders, for example, or giving higher point values when you redeem rewards for such purchases. Even as travel takes off again, issuers of travel cards may keep touting heightened rewards on categories outside the travel arena, too.
Dec 19, 2020
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
To say that 2020 didn’t go quite as we’d all planned for any of us is an understatement. The travel industry took a huge hit which has resulted in a lot of customer-friendly moves. I’m very much a realist so in thinking ahead, I can’t help but wonder how long these positive changes will last. While we’re all benefiting from status extensions and generating tons of rewards thanks to mileage sales and category bonuses, there are bound to be negative consequences down the line.