If You Return A Purchase, Can You Keep The Credit Card Rewards?

Consider this: You have to return an item that you bought with a credit card, and you’re issued a refund. Do you still get credit card points if you return something like that?

The short answer, unfortunately, is yes. When you return an item to a store — whether the purchase was made online or in person — the number of points you earned from that expense will be deducted from your rewards balance on your next credit card statement. It doesn’t matter which rewards credit card you’ve chosen to use for your purchase, you can’t have your return and keep your rewards, too.

Why do you lose rewards on returned purchases?

After your credit card is refunded, you’ll see any points, miles or cash back you earned from your initial transaction removed from the balance in your rewards account. In some cases, rewards may disappear immediately, but in other cases, your rewards balance might not change until your billing cycle is up.

Let’s say that you bought your mother a new $40 pair of slippers from Macy’s for Christmas. Your mother gets warm feet, and you get 60 points since you made the purchase with your Chase Freedom Unlimited® that earns 1.5 percent back as Chase Ultimate Rewards points on most purchases.

Unexpectedly, however, your generous gift flopped, and now you’re left returning the slippers to get a $40 credit back to your card. On your next statement, you’ll not only see the money returned as a credit, but you’ll also see the 60 points deducted from your running award balance.

The reasoning behind this is simple: your credit card rewards are directly tied to the purchases you’ve made. If everyone returned all their purchases and credit card companies didn’t take back the rewards, we’d all be buying things every day and returning them as a way to earn a free trip to Tahiti.

What about credit card return protection?

If you’ve chosen a credit card with credit card return protection, the same rules generally apply. Return protection simply guarantees that you’ll be able to return your product even if the store won’t take it back by returning it directly to the credit card company in exchange for a refund. As soon as the refund is posted to your card statement, the points you earned from that same purchase will be deducted from your statement’s current balance.

Are the rules different for returns with online retailers vs. brick-and-mortar stores?

It doesn’t really matter if you’ve purchased your item on a shop’s webpage or in their store. If the transaction triggers a return of funds to your credit card, the respective rewards will be deducted as well.

Savvy buyers should also be aware, if you’ve purchased the item online through a rewards shopping portal to stack a deal, you will also likely lose the bonus points that were given to you as part of your double dip. Usually, bonus points awarded through online shopping are not credited to your account until six to eight weeks after purchase. If you make a return, your bonus points will be taken away before you ever receive them. The purchase will also no longer count towards cumulative earning if you spend toward a bigger rewards point shopping bonus.

What happens if a charge is refunded to my credit card and I already used the rewards?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve already used the rewards points that you accrued — you’ll still see them deducted. The card issuer is not actually removing the points from the rewards program in which you’ve accrued them; rather, they are debiting them against your current earnings — the same way that a credit of a dollar amount is made against your current credit card spending for a return.

And, yes, it is possible for your rewards balance to dip into negative territory. In that case, your new purchases will earn rewards the same way they always have — but you’ll need to get back into the positive before redeeming any points.

Is there ever a situation when I can keep the points?

Because nearly all stores require you to use the same credit card or form of payment for your return that you used for your initial purchase, there aren’t many scenarios where you get to keep the credit card points if you return something — unless you aren’t actually getting the funds credited back to your account.

The primary scenario in which you’d be able to make a return and keep the points that you’ve already earned is accepting a store credit for your purchase instead of having the funds returned to your credit card account. Return those slippers for a $40 gift card and you’ll keep all your points.

Another scenario where you’d keep the points on a return is if your return turns out to be an even exchange (returning mom’s gift for a different size pair of slippers). If, however, you decide to upgrade mom’s slippers in exchange for a nicer pair — say ones that cost $59 — you’d also get an upgrade in points to account for the $19 price difference.

How returns affect earning bonuses

Any credit card purchases you return will count against any cumulative earning you’ve done toward receiving a future spending bonus — like meeting the minimum spend on a new credit card to receive a big sign-up bonus. So, not only would you lose rewards on the returned purchase, but you’d potentially miss out on the more valuable sign-up bonus. How terrible would it be to reach the goal of spending $3,000 in three months, and then not receive your sign-up bonus because your slipper return left you $40 short?

The bottom line

Returns happen. Mom might not like the slippers, those new jeans might not fit as well once you’ve gotten them home or you might simply wake up with a case of buyer’s remorse. While it’s never fun to lose rewards that you’ve worked and shopped hard to earn, the bright side is that every new trip to the store brings another opportunity to earn them back. Just make sure you’re responsibly using a rewards credit card that suits your spending habits and allows you to truly maximize your rewards earned.