Written by Jason Foley
Updated on Thu, 29 Jan 2026

You've been collecting points and miles for years, planning trips and taking advantage of all the offers. Sometimes life throws us curveballs, though, and you may find yourself unable to travel and sitting on a bounty of points.

If you’re in this situation, we don’t suggest you just stop collecting points

You can keep collecting and stock them away in hopes that you’ll hit the road again some day. If that’s the case, you’ll have a collection of points to use to get started. Keeping points coming in, particularly transferable points, gives your future self flexibility and options. Just make sure you know the expiration rules of each bank, airline, or hotel you have points with.

However, if you’re not keen on traveling for a while, for whatever reason, there are some other options for redeeming your points and miles. As a disclaimer, you will not be able to maximize their worth in the same way as using them for travel, particularly if you have been transferring them to partners.

Statement Credits or Cash

You can typically use your points toward a statement credit, or link your rewards to a specific bank account. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards can be linked to your regular checking or saving account and deposited directly into your account. You can even opt to get checks from your point system, which you will want to deposit ASAP because they do expire. Most other banks offer this option as well, and these generally transfer at 1 cent per point.

If you have an Amex Platinum card and a Charles Schwab brokerage account, you can convert Membership Rewards points to cash through the “Invest with Rewards” program at a rate of 1.1 cents per point. That is an excellent value for a non-travel redemption. American Express pools all Membership Rewards points together, so as long as you hold a Platinum card, you can cash out up to 1 million points per calendar year at this rate (after that the rate drops to 0.8 cents per point).

Shop With Points

Many points programs partner with major retailers, allowing you to link your rewards account and use points to offset purchases. Transferable points programs partner with retailers like Amazon, Apple, PayPal, Best Buy, and Sephora. Link your cards and you can choose to apply points at checkout instead of paying with your card. Airline and hotel loyalty programs often offer similar shopping options through their own portals for merchandise or gift cards. Redemption values vary widely, especially for gift cards, so it’s important to check the rate before redeeming. Some offer 1 cent per point, but many fall closer to 0.5 cents per point, making this one of the less efficient ways to use your rewards.

Share Your Points

Sharing or gifting your points is another option. Capital One allows you to transfer points to any other Capital One member. Chase allows you to share points with a household member with the same address. Citi allows you to transfer ThankYou points to another person, but be aware these expire 90 days after transferring. Amex doesn’t allow sharing, but you can often transfer points to someone else’s loyalty program (depending on the program).

Donate Your Points

This is particularly appealing for those do-gooders out there. And especially useful if your points are about to expire. Pick from millions of different non-profit organizations and see how contagious the joy of giving can be.

Bottom Line

The best use of points is always going to be for travel. Even if you’re unable to travel for a bit, you can keep collecting points for future trips. But if you don’t foresee traveling in the near future, it might be good to look at cash-back card options. There are plenty to choose from, and this is a great way to get something back while paying your bills, which doesn't stop, even when travel does!