Over the past few months, I’ve seen a complete change in my spending habits. For about the past three years my largest monthly expenses have been airfare, transportation, and dining out. However, with the statewide lockdown due to COVID-19, my spending habits have changed dramatically.
With that change, I still want to try to earn as many points and miles as I can based on my current spending. While I have an idea of what I’m earning from each of my purchases, it’s been an important exercise to go into each of my card accounts to make sure.
This whole process began when I activated the Chase Freedom 5% Cash Back Bonus Categories for Q2’20. Shortly after activating the benefit I decided to check the fine print. What I noticed was that only certain grocery stores were eligible to earn 5% cash back. Not surprisingly, my local neighborhood grocer was not listed. So, I quickly logged into my Chase Ultimate Rewards account to see what I was earning.
Checking Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Earning
To check how many Chase Ultimate Rewards points you’re earning, first log into your account and click on the Ultimate Rewards button. This should be located along the left hand side of the desktop portal.
After clicking the Ultimate Rewards button, you should see a list of cards eligible to earn Ultimate Rewards. Click on an account to get to the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Once in the Ultimate Rewards portal, you can see totals for how many points you’re earning. To see more detail, click on the little “i” button next to the “points with your next statement.” After clicking that icon, you’ll reach the below dashboard.
Finally, on this dashboard, click on the “See activity details” button for specific details on each purchase.
It was on this page I was able to confirm that I’m still earning 5% cash back on my grocery store purchases. Now I know that my little neighbor grocer qualifies despite not being listed as a qualifying grocery store. You can obviously repeat these steps to confirm other purchases qualify as well. So, I’d recommend going through your points earning statements at least a few times a year to verify that you’re earning the points that you think you are.
Checking American Express Membership Rewards Points Earning
To check how many Amex Membership Rewards points you are earning you must first log into your American Express account. Once logged in, you should see a box displaying your Membership Rewards points. At the bottom of that box, is an “Explore Rewards” button. Clicking that button will take you to the Membership Rewards portal.
On the Membership Rewards portal you can find your current points balance and the number of points you can expect to earn based on your last statement.
After clicking your Membership Rewards points total, you’ll reach a summary of your points activity. On that page you’ll see a summary of your historical charges and points earned from each charge.
If you have multiple American Express cards, you can easily change to other cards using the drop down menu on the right.
Again, this is a great way to check in on your spending to make sure you’re maximizing the points earned from each purchase. In this case, I’ve since deleted my Amex cards from my Amazon profile in favor for the Citi Double Cash card.
Checking Citi Thank You Rewards Points Earning
Overall, Chase and American Express make it fairly easy to see exactly how many points you’re earning on each purchase. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Citi. As with the other two card issuers, to check how many ThankYou points you’re earning, you must first login to your Citi account. Once logged in, it’s just one quick click along the top banner to access your ThankYou Rewards dashboard.
Once you reach the dashboard, you’ll see your total points and account information near the top right corner of the page. On that dropdown, click on the “Points Summary” button to reach additional detail showing you how many points you’re earning.
After clicking that link you’ll find a page which lists your ThankYou points earned by account. If you click on the “View By List” option you can find daily detail of ThankYou points earned. This however, is where things get challenging.
Unlike the other two card issuers, Citi does not provide merchant or purchase detail. Instead, you will have to compare these rates to the charges on your statement to see exactly how many points you are earning from each purchase. This makes figuring out how many points your earning a bit more difficult, but could prove a worthwhile exercise.
Final Thoughts
On Sunday this week, while sitting at home in quarantine, I went through all of my credit card accounts to see my points earning from each transaction. In doing this I actually discovered a few recurring charges that aren’t hitting the best card. I included on of those, Amazon, above. So, for that reason, I found this a worthwhile task.
I also discovered there were a few restaurants that I frequently visit that aren’t coding properly. There were at least two lunch places that I (used to) frequent that weren’t showing up as restaurants. Because of this I will make sure to use a different card next time I’m able to dine there. Sure I’ll miss out on a few points, but at least I’ll earn more than I would have otherwise.
