You are being charged to encash reward points

Hyderabad: All banks have started collecting transaction/handling charges towards redemption of reward points on special cards like i-mint, payback etc. Before January 1, 2017, there was no charge when redeeming points at e-commerce and m-commerce sites and on-line shopping applications.

The reward points scheme is to motivate card users to make online transactions instead of cash payments. But, all banks integrated with reward cards have begun charging handling/transaction fee for converting points to cash. GVR Kishore, a techie from the city, said that the transaction charge on redemption of points is discouraging those who regularly use cards to pay for shopping.

"I have a mobile app for recharging my mobile and mostly I convert my points to cash with the app. Recently, when I opened the app, it automatically converted my points into cash  worth Rs 20 while my bank charged me Rs 25 towards handling charges! Since January 1, banks are charging Rs 25 every time when converting my points into cash," he said.