Lenders Boosting their Reward Programs in Response to Holiday Season

The holiday season is associated with huge credit card spending and this move is meant to reward their consumers for plunging into more debt at this time of the year. The participating firms are hoping that these offers will make their rewards plastics more attractive to consumers and hopefully spike up sign up rates as many consumers continue to look out for ways to save money on their purchases at this peak shopping period of the year.

Different lenders are trying to use these generous reward programs to gain competitive advantages over their rivals and with each passing day, more attractive offers are being announced by many top borrowers as the holiday shopping season draws nearer. Apart from reward card holders, consumers with cash back cards are also being offered unbelievable reward points and experts believe the offers will become even sweeter as we approach the last month of the year. Predictably, many consumers will fall for these offers as some of them are just too tempting to look away from.

Many consumers are generating great benefits from the heavy investments being made by top lenders in their rewards programs. For instance, American Express is believed to have increased its rewards program investment by over 24%, leading to the introduction of cards such as the Blue Cash Everyday that gives consumers a bonus of $100 cash back if they are able to spend $1,000 within the first 90 days. Other credit cards from the lender have seen reward points for purchases at Apple, Target and other retailers shooting up as much as 500 percent.

Consumers who sign up for the ShopDiscover program for their Discover cards are being rewarded at 5-10 percent of their total costs when they shop at specific retailers. Many lenders have also heard complaints about the complicated and sometimes costly manner of their reward point redemptions and have taken steps in that direction. For instance, American Express has made their reward points easier to redeem through the institution of generous discounts.

Leading credit card firm Visa has just announced a deal with Shopkick that will give various kicks (reward points) to their consumers for shopping with their cards at various retailers such as Old Navy, Toys "R" Us, American Eagle, etc.

Lauren Palmer

Lauren Palmer is a freelance writer who is a regular contributor to a variety of online and print publications. Although she has much to say about many subjects, she specializes in topics pertaining to personal finance. She holds a bachelor’s degree from NYU in journalism.