Most Americans who rack up credit card rewards points and frequent-flier miles don’t know how many they have, according to a recent survey. If you have trouble tracking your points, there are tools that can help.
AwardWallet.com supports 562 rewards programs, including those for credit cards, airlines, hotels, shopping and dining. Register your accounts and, on a single page, AwardWallet lists the balances of points or cash you’ve earned for each program. AwardWallet, which has free applications for Android and iPhone, sends e-mail notifications when your points are about to expire. One catch: The site does not automatically update miles or points for four major airlines: American, Delta, Southwest and United. You can, however, add programs that aren’t eligible for automatic updating to your list and enter the information manually.
The Wallaby app for Android and iPhone uses your location to determine which credit card will earn you maximum benefits at the cash register. Just enter the names of your cards (it supports more than 650) and the app will point you to the card that currently pays the most points on, say, restaurant purchases when you’re eating at McDonald’s. Wallaby is also testing a card that will hold data on all your credit accounts and automatically choose the best option when you swipe. (Sign up for the wait list at http://walla.by.)
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If you’re looking for a new rewards card, try the Wallet Boost tool. Link to your credit and bank card accounts so that the tool can analyze your recent spending. Then answer questions, such as how you prefer to redeem your rewards. Based on your responses, the tool recommends suitable cards, including estimated yearly earnings.
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