You’re probably undervaluing your statement credits

Reading Time: 3 min

There’s a surplus of statement credits in the travel rewards credit card scene nowadays. Lots of them are useful, but some feel like they’re just hollow additions that exist to make the credit card look better on paper. Even several of the best statement credits come with clunky redemption rules that make them cumbersome to use.

Of course, the primary value of these credits is to save you money. But because many act as rebates instead of point-of-sale discounts, you’ll earn rewards on the transaction and then get the money back — so the points cost you nothing on net.

For this reason, it’s worth redeeming even those obscure credits just to earn rewards. The amount of points I find myself with at the end of each year from using credits is astounding.

Here are a few examples.

I (and probably you) have multiple credit cards that come with some form of points-earning hotel credit.

For example, I’ve got both The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Each comes with up to $600 in annual credit on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection bookings made through Amex Travel ($300 from January to June and $300 from July to December). They also earn 5 Amex points per dollar on prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Travel.

With my credits, I was able to almost entirely cover the cost of two nights at the Waldorf Astoria Versailles - Trianon Palace — and earn 6,000 bonus Amex points at the same time.

I also have the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, which comes with up to $240 in Hilton credit each year ($60 per quarter). Factor in the card’s 12x earning rate for Hilton spending and the 100% bonus on base points I get from holding Diamond elite status, and I’m earning a free 7,680 Hilton points each year.

Another example: My Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card effectively earns 4 miles per dollar when redeeming its up to $100 in Delta Stays Credit. That’s roughly 400 low-effort Delta miles in the bank. Delta Stays bookings earn 2 miles per dollar on the base rate only, so taxes and fees don’t earn.

Several rewards credit cards come with some form of dining credits, awarded monthly or quarterly.

My Amex Platinum Card comes with up to $400 in credits to be redeemed at eligible Resy restaurants (enrollment required). With those credits, I can get up to 2,400 points annually by using them at restaurants that also participate in a dining program. For example, Rakuten Dining pays up to 5% back at eligible restaurants — many of which are on Resy — and you can set your Rakuten account to pay out in Membership Rewards points or Bilt Points rather than cash.

In case you missed it...

The credit head start that begins later than you think

From Dell to Dunkin’ to a variety of streaming services, there are myriad retail- and service-based credits that generate points without the need to actually spend money.

One of my favorite new ways is via the up to $75 per quarter in Lululemon credit from the Amex Platinum Card (enrollment required). I like to wait until Rakuten inevitably offers 15x at Lululemon — usually during one of its seasonal shopping events — and buy something moderately useful. When one of those windows lines up with the credit, $75 turns into 1,125 Amex points on top of getting the money back — though the timing doesn’t always cooperate, and there are stretches when Lululemon isn’t earning on Rakuten at all.

All to say, even if you don't think you’ll use a particular credit card statement credit — whether it’s Lululemon, airline incidentals, or a meager hotel credit — you can still often get value just from the spending that comes from redeeming it.

One device to replace your charger, cable, and power bank

Streamline your gear with a flight-safe power companion. This INIU 10,000mAh power bank packs a 45W charger, heavy-duty USB-C cable, and a built-in wall plug into one device to fast-charge laptops and flagship phones.

Get it at Amazon