ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 If it feels like your credit card points don\u2019t stretch as far as they once did, you\u2019re not imagining it, because even if you\u2019re earning the same number of points or miles, their value has quietly been shrinking.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s behind the trend? Because credit card rewards are tied to airline, hotel, and retail programs, many of those programs have raised the number of points required for the same flights, hotel nights, or merchandise. <\/p>\n
So \u2013 a redemption that once cost 20,000 points may now cost 25,000 or even 30,000 points.<\/p>\n
This shift is happening on top of regular inflation, which has pushed prices higher across much of the economy.<\/p>\n
The key thing consumers need to understand: points aren\u2019t like cash. Their value fluctuates based on program rules and real-world pricing. Card issuers don\u2019t always label these changes as \u201cdevaluations,\u201d but the result is essentially the same: rewards now buy less than they used to.<\/p>\n
Some card issuers and rewards programs have also quietly changed transfer ratios, redemption options, or perks, making it harder for consumers to get maximum value unless they closely follow program rules.<\/p>\n
Regulators have taken notice.<\/p>\n
[WATCH BELOW: Eddie Bauer files for bankruptcy]<\/p>\n
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has warned that sudden or unclear changes to rewards programs can leave consumers confused about what their points are really worth. So far, those warnings have not led to major regulatory changes.<\/p>\n
Experts say consumers can protect themselves by avoiding the temptation to hoard points, comparing redemption values before cashing in, and recognizing that simple cash-back cards often provide more predictable value than points and miles.<\/p>\n
So, what have we learned? Your rewards didn\u2019t disappear \u2013 their purchasing power, however, is just being diluted.<\/p>\n
[WATCH BELOW: Prestige no longer protects]<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 If it feels like your credit card points don\u2019t stretch as far as they once…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[17418,76958,740,2159,139,141,140],"class_list":{"0":"post-160712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-credit-cards","9":"tag-dollars-and-sense","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-money","12":"tag-orlando","13":"tag-orlando-headlines","14":"tag-orlando-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}