Rebate Credit Card: What Can I Do with Those Miles?
Contributed by Caryn e Zent
Can I Sell My Rebate Credit Card Miles on E-Bay?
So you've racked up some miles on your rebate credit card. Now what? You are faced with blackout dates and hotel room blocking. Sure, you can try auctioning them off. But depending on the card, there are many possibilities involved in cashing in those frequent-flier miles. Sometimes you might have thousands or hundreds of thousands of miles built up, but they are spread around several different airlines or programs. What to do?
Rebate credit card companies do not always publish alternatives or make is easy to cash out your miles. Usually you need a minimum of 25,000 miles to cash out. Earning other free things such as hotel nights take less of your miles but are earned more slowly. But there are other things you can do when you have all those lovely points and nowhere to take them.
Dude, where are my credit card rebates?
You actually can sell your points, sometimes quite easily. There are web brokers out there. It is true that most programs try to prohibit selling points, and it is illegal in some states. You also risk having your points confiscated. The philosophy is, you have earned the points and should be able to use them. You are allowed to use your points for family members, and unfortunately, selling the miles often involves lying about their use, buying a ticket for a so-called family member, and selling it to someone else. Not advocating doing anything illegal, of course....
