Consumers who have rewards credit cards issued by one of the nation’s top lenders will be able to enjoy more perks with the points they rack up this year.
Consumers who have Citi ThankYou rewards cards will now be able to apply the points they rack up for tickets to concerts and other events through Live Nation, according to a report from MarketWatch. Through the new service, consumers who are buying seats at these events will be given the option to pay for their transaction using the points they’ve earned on their rewards accounts, though if they do not have enough perks in their account, they will be able to complete the purchase using their Citi-branded credit or debit card. However, it is unclear how much points will be worth for Live Nation ticket purchases.
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Further, the lender plans to complete a number of other deals with partner companies to allow similar rewards redemption options by the end of the year, the report said. Already, it allows ThankYou rewards cardholders to use their points to book travel arrangements through its own site.
“We are constantly looking for ways to remove friction from the redemption process,” Ralph Andretta, head of co-brands and loyalty for credit cards at Citi, told the news agency.
Many of the nation’s top lenders have been attempting to make it easier for consumers to use their rewards points more easily in recent months, the report said. Discover Financial Services, American Express and JPMorgan Chase all recently revealed that they would allow cardholders to redeem their points for purchases made through the online marketplace Amazon.com. This type of offering – which industry experts call “real-time rewards” – is expected to become more commonplace in the future as lenders partner with businesses to give consumers more options.
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Consumers have largely flocked to rewards offerings since the end of the recession because many see them as a viable option for increasing the value of their accounts. However, many have also expressed concerns about the rewards redemption process because it can often be difficult to find deals consumers may be looking for, and in some cases, borrowers may have their points expire before they get around to using them.
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