Choosing the Right Credit Card for Rewards and Understanding What Happens to Unredeemed Rewards When a Card is Closed

Various credit cards offer significant travel and cash back rewards, but it's crucial to understand the implications of closing a card on unredeemed rewards.

• Several credit cards offer valuable perks and rewards for air travel, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card.
• Cash back credit cards offer high rewards on spending categories like groceries, gas, and dining out. These include the Citi® Double Cash Card, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and the Discover it® Cash Back card.
• When closing a credit card, it's important to understand what happens to unredeemed rewards. With co-branded credit cards, the rewards are yours to keep, even after you have closed the card. However, with flexible rewards, you generally need to redeem them before closing the card.
• Discover® is more generous than some other card issuers in that its cash back rewards never expire — even if you close your account. Instead, it will automatically credit your account or send you a check with your rewards balance if your account is closed or if it has not been used within 18 months.
• If a bank initiates the closure of your credit card account, you typically lose your rewards immediately. The only exception is usually for inactivity closures where you may have 30 to 90 days to still redeem your points.

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