Author Topic: Is it Ethical to trade credit card points for money with family?  (Read 1311 times)

Hellohi

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So I am going on vacation with my wife and kids and also my mother.  My mother has a time share so I bought her round trip plane ticket and also two extra days in a hotel with points. My mother has offered to rent a car...I have offer to split it with her.

Is it unethical to pay for the rental with credit card points and keep her portion of the money?

Should I just pay with cash and keep the points? 

Should I just pay for the whole thing with the points and not have my mother pay?

  I look at the points as currency that I earned by “working”. I have suggested others start collecting the points including my mother but no one seems to want to put in the effort.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Is it Ethical to trade credit card points for money with family?
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2019, 04:26:46 PM »
I'd pay with points and not spend a second thinking about it.

Nola584

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Re: Is it Ethical to trade credit card points for money with family?
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2019, 04:33:31 PM »
I don’t think it’s unethical per se to use your points and take your mom’s cash, but it just depends on how you look at the points.

I’m in the situation that I generally far more in points than I can use, so if I have the opportunity to treat my family to some of the benefits of “free” travel, I usually do. It increases my enjoyment of the points as it lets me be more generous without regret

In your shoes, I’d probably tell my mom I would get the rental car with points and let her pick up a few meals or something if she really wanted to contribute beyond the timeshare. But my mom is also no longer working and on a fixed income, while I have a well paying career I enjoy and healthy savings, so it’s not a one size fits all answer.

bacchi

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Re: Is it Ethical to trade credit card points for money with family?
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2019, 04:37:32 PM »
I wouldn't have a problem getting money for points. Usually, though, I just give them away if I have extra.