Originally Posted by
rasheed
As I have earned some of these 250k bonuses for online purchases, I think I need to redeem some points.
Are there any recommended rewards?
In particular, I can redeem some prepaid Visa or MC and use them for utility payments (giving up 2% in rewards as there is no current SYW utility bonus either, but so it goes...). From a retailer perspective, I can see Walmart is useful since it is most commonly not a bonus merchant (for in-person use). I avoid restaurants and groceries or Amazon because of GGR or 5% online bonuses bonus, but am open to other merchants that are not often discounted already.
The issue with the prepaid Visa or MC is there are so many versions (why, I don't know). Are there any that have better value in redemption/fees? I am ok with online only as I can pay utility via phone or online with a virtual number, but just need to make sure it works and is not worse than a 1 cent/point value. I presume there is no cash equivalent (paypal redemption, ATM access - not referencing to MO) otherwise those would have been used heavily.
Personally if they aren't soon to expire:
1) I first look for anything with an extra bonus (occasionally they'll have an extra percentage on the eVisa Gift Cards)
2) Then I look for something I will actually use/need (ie: home projects, etc. I'll do Lowe's/HD GC)
Just keep in mind that the eVisa GC expire in 6 months after you get them, so make sure you use them. The eVisa ones I can load to Apple Wallet and go to Hannaford (local grocery store) and use split payment to buy the Secure Spend Visa Gift card (get a $500 one for $5.95 activation fee) and then load that to Discover Checking and cash out.
However, last year I had a bathroom remodel and did not get my tile from HD/Lowes, and used local tile shops, so I used the eGift gift cards I'd loaded onto Apple Wallet instead.
Everyone will have a different view on this matter, so there's no "right" or "wrong", IMO.