Released: June 01, 2006

Reward points for debit cards

Source: By Kathy Chu, USA Today

Credit card users have long enjoyed rewards for charging purchases, staying at certain hotels or flying on designated airlines. Now, as debit cards claim a rising share of electronic sales, more banks are offering points for debit card use, too. Increasingly, debit card users are gaining points redeemable for plane tickets, merchandise or cash.

Last week, MasterCard joined with Upromise, an educational services company, to let banks deposit money into customers’ college savings plans when they pay grocery, gas or restaurant bills with a debit card. This year, Washington Mutual introduced a debit card that gives customers 3 cents back for each purchase, up to $250 a year in rebates. Citibank now awards customers points for using its bank products and services, including debit cards. Bank of America offers to round up debit card users’ purchases to the nearest dollar, then transfer that amount to a savings account.

Be aware, though: Debit card rewards tend to be leaner than credit card rewards.

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