Cards can get you cash
My key chain and my wallet are bursting with cards for frequent flier programs and retailers' loyalty clubs.
I carry cards for 20 companies in my purse every day I leave my house. (That's not an exaggeration: I counted.) Truth be told, it's not a hassle because these programs can pay off.Recently we booked a flight using miles earned through one of our credit cards, and I redeemed points from another program to get a Starbucks gift card.
My general philosophy is that almost all of these programs are free to join, so you might as well join so you can get a bonus for my normal spending.But Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc. in New York, said some people don't get as much from these programs simply because of the kind of shoppers they are.
There are folks who diligently collect and track their points until they can cash them in.Others like instant gratification and cash in points as they earn them, getting smaller prizes.But the majority of users are in the middle, accumulating points and not tracking them closely. That can lead to the unintended loss of points when they expire.Consumers as a whole have started to resist these clubs, because it seems that nearly every retailer has one, Passikoff said.
Source:http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/BUSINESS01/805290374/-1/BUSINESS04
