Once upon a time I was a credit card telemarketer (don't hit me, please), and I do recall that this type of thing is further prevented because credit card access checks, cash advances, and similar instruments specifically do not earn points--else one could just transfer money around various accounts endlessly and earn unlimited points. (Though at the cost of paying the interest, anyway, at an 8-15% rate, maybe higher for cash transactions, to earn 1% back in points, which seems like a bad idea. Cash transactions also start charging interest immediately, unlike purchases, so you can't get out of paying interest on cash even if you pay the card in full every month--yet another way behaviors like this are prevented.)