Using Amex Reward Points For A Blu-Ray Player & A Television.

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about cashing in my American Express points and closing the account? Well, I redeemed my first batch of reward points this morning for a $200 Dell gift certificate, which I promptly turned around and used to buy a new Samsung Blu-Ray DVD player. Since in 2 weeks when I move (I promise, I will get to the “why” soon) I am about to be without a TV and a DVD player, I decided that this would be a good use of some of the AMEX points I had accumulated. And because I planned carefully before I bought the DVD player, I did a few things to make sure I received the maximum benefit from my purchase:

1. Bought it through a Dell store link over at MyPoints, meaning I got 2 points for each dollar.
2. Used my Chase Amtrak card for the small balance, so I received more rail miles

I still have a lot of points left, and I plan on using some of them to get another $200 certificate to Dell to put towards a new television, which I will have delivered directly to my new home in Colorado (so I don’t have to move it with my other belongings). Makes sense, right?

Sometimes the reward points do come in handy, but I still plan on canceling the card before my renewal date in a few months, as I no longer want to pay annual fees to use a credit card. Luckily, I am getting back way more in rewards than I ever spent in annual fees, but that won’t be the case anymore as I don’t really use that card anymore. For people who really have a ton of expenses, reward cards like this one might be worth the fee, but for me, it isn’t anymore. Besides, all my recurring bills go on my Amtrak card so I can get free train travel, which is much more important to me than random electronics. But in this case, I needed a new DVD player and a new TV, so it made sense. See, reward credit cards are not all bad as long as you use them wisely!

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