Major credit card companies like Amex, Chase and Bank of America are now facing backlash for silently devaluing reward points and airline miles – an issue that that could aggrieve millions of Americans amid rising inflation.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a warning to companies like American Express for potential violations of the law by obscuring terms and conditions for earning or retaining rewards.
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It is common practice for consumers to rack up credit card points and then redeem them for hotel stays, and flights or even get cashback.
However, since the pandemic, companies like American Express and JP Morgan Chase have quietly and steadily devalued the points amid rising inflation that has affected cardholders’ purchasing power.
These companies have been accused of enticing customers with alleged perks and rewards but failing to deliver on these promises.
Many consumers choose cards based on a rewards system, the CFPB said, which often includes cash, points, air miles as sign-up bonuses as well as rewards for certain kinds of spending.
The CFPB found that in addition to devaluing these points, many companies hide the conditions for earning or retaining rewards.
“Fine print disclaimers or vague terms buried in a contract may unlawfully conflict with prominent promotional language advertising the rewards consumers can earn,” the CFPB said, adding: “Companies may also illegally rely on fine print to cancel valuable rewards that consumers have already earned.”
In a circular issued to law enforcement agencies, the CFPB has taken action against Bank of America and American Express for engaging in illegal practices related to this rewards system.
The value of a point redeemed through online banking has been worth around one cent. However, one cent lost around 20 percent of its purchasing power amid inflation since 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this also means that the value of a point has fallen by the same amount. They reported that 50,000 points built up with a major credit card company in 2020 has fallen to 41,300 in October 2024.
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According to annual reports from Chase, Capital One, American Express, and more, cardholders earned more than $34 billion in points in 2023. If users redeem them directly through a bank’s portal, the points start to devalue. However, if transferred into a frequent flier or other points program, the conversion rates change. Many airlines now use a dynamic pricing model to redeem these points, including Delta, United and American Airlines.
In 2012, Bank of America had to pay $85 million to around 250,000 customers for “illegal card practices” and paid more than $100 million to customers last year.
However, Reuters reported that industry groups have attacked the CFPB with a sharp rebuke, accusing them of sensationalizing it.
The President of the American Bankers Association, Rob Nichols, told Reuters that such reward point complaints were “extraordinarily uncommon” and blamed political pressure from CFPB.
