Credit Cards How To Gift Credit Card Points If you're not using credit card points, maybe someone else can By Lindsay VanSomeren Updated on October 5, 2022 Reviewed by Erika Rasure Reviewed by Erika Rasure Erika Rasure is globally-recognized as a leading consumer economics subject matter expert, researcher, and educator. She is a financial therapist and transformational coach, with a special interest in helping women learn how to invest. learn about our financial review board Fact checked by J.R. Duren In This Article View All In This Article How To Get Credit Card Points Who To Give Credit Card Points To How To Gift Credit Card Points Creative Gift Presentation Ideas The Bottom Line Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Photo: The Balance / Alice Morgan If you're sitting on a pile of credit card points with no plans to use them, giving them away as a gift can sound like a good idea—and indeed, it can be. But there's a lot to think about when gifting away your credit card points. For example, does the person or charity you're giving those points to have a way to receive them? Does your credit card rewards program make gifting easy and reliable? Will your recipient be able to use the points you give? Learn more about turning your credit card points and miles into satisfying gifts. Key Takeaways You can earn credit card points in a variety of ways, including through welcome bonuses, regular spending, and points purchases.Most credit card rewards programs allow you to transfer miles to family, friends, and, in some cases, charities. You can do a points transfer to someone else via your online account or over the phone with your credit card issuer. Ask your issuer about any fees related to transferring your credit card points to someone else. How To Get Credit Card Points Stockpiling credit card points is one of the finer arts of frequent travelers and value-conscious shoppers. There are many ways to get credit card points, including: Welcome bonuses: Many cards offer a big lump sum of points if you spend a certain amount of money, usually within the first three months.Regular spending: Rewards credit cards have different ways of offering you credit card points based on your everyday spending.Purchasing points: If you're looking to top off your points tank so that you have enough to redeem for a certain purchase, or to reach a certain milestone, many rewards programs allow you to buy points with cash. This is common with frequent traveler programs. Just note that you will likely pay a premium for the points you acquire. Who To Give Credit Card Points To Credit card rewards points can be a great gift for family and friends, and you can also donate them to charity. Giving Credit Card Points to Friends and Family If you want to gift someone with a trip, you can gift them with credit card miles. But perhaps a better way would be to simply book a ticket for them using your own miles. That way, you don't have to worry about transfer fees or the recipient getting stuck with leftover points they won’t use. If you do decide to gift someone your credit card points—such as to help them reach a redemption threshold for a reward, or if you're gifting non-travel-related points—it's a good idea to be in communication with them. For example, if they need a certain amount to complete a purchase, make sure you're able to transfer it to the recipient. As well, you’ll need their account number to execute the transfer. In order to preserve the surprise, you can present the gift without specifics on the occasion and then fill in the details afterward. Note Giving someone credit card points that they can't or won't use is a bit like giving someone a coupon to a restaurant they're never going to visit. Your intentions are good, but another gift might be more appropriate. Donating Credit Card Points to Charity Donating your points to a charity is a worthy endeavor, but you're generally limited to charities that your credit card company has already pre-selected. For example, if you're earning United MileagePlus miles with one of the United airline credit cards, you can choose from one of more than a dozen charities to donate your points. Keep in mind that sometimes your charity will receive points directly, such as with United Airlines' program. But other times, such as with American Express Membership Rewards, the credit card issuer will convert the points to cash that will be used for your donation. How To Gift Credit Card Points The exact way you gift credit card points varies with the reward program. Each credit card issuer is different. But in general, the process works like this: Log in to your account: You can do the entire process online, but if you'd prefer to speak with someone on the telephone, that's usually an option too. Visit the rewards center: This is where you'll find your redemption options. If donating your points is an option, you should be able to find it here. If you’re booking travel for someone, you can do it here, too. And if you're transferring points, there should be a clear process for that, too. Complete the request: Pay attention to each screen carefully as you go through to make sure that there aren't any surprises and that you'll be able to finish booking your gift successfully. Tax Implications of Credit Card Points If you’re wondering whether credit card points are considered taxable income, the answer is yes and no. For example, you may owe taxes if you earn a sign-up bonus of more than $600 that doesn't require any spending. However, if you book an award flight or hotel stay with points, the IRS considers your rewards redemption as discounted travel rather than taxable income. But when it comes to gifting points, you likely won't have to owe taxes, generally speaking, unless the gift exceeds the exclusion amount (the dollar amount you'd have to give away to trigger taxes) for the tax year you donate in. Unless you've been sitting on points for quite some time, chances are you won't need to worry about paying gift tax on your points transfer. Note The annual exclusion for gift tax is per recipient, which means you can give up to the limit to as many people as you like before the gift tax rules come into play. Transaction Costs To Consider Some credit card and travel rewards programs charge transfer fees to move your points to someone else's account. If you're booking travel for someone else, there may be small fees for booking reward travel, too. And if you’re purchasing points, you may pay service fees on top of inflated costs for the points themselves. Check with your specific credit card rewards program for more details. Additionally, donating to a charitable organization may incur a transaction fee. Creative Gift Presentation Ideas Credit card points may not be the easiest present to wrap, but you can get creative with the presentation. Here are some ideas. Send an Appropriately Themed Card If you’re gifting airline miles or hotel points, announce it with a postcard from one of the recipient’s favorite vacation spots. For general-purpose credit card reward points meant for purchases other than travel, you could slip a note into a greeting card with ideas for how to spend the points. Create a Custom Gift Card Make a DIY gift card from cardboard or colored paper and markers. Specify what the gift is and how to redeem it to get the points. Create a Digital or In-Person Scavenger Hunt How this goes over will depend on the gift-giving occasion (and the adventurousness of the recipient). For example, you could create a list of fun clues that you hide in or under objects around the house and that lead the recipient to their main present at the end. You can use one of the other ideas here for the final presentation, or just write a clever note explaining what the gift recipient has actually found. A Small Box of Glitter or Confetti Each shard of shine or fleck of color represents one credit card reward point. Accompany the box of fun with a note or card explaining that. A Jar of Pennies We consider 1 cent to be the floor for credit card reward point redemption value. While 10,000 pennies might be a little much for a stocking stuffer, a small jar of pennies (and a note of explanation) will get the point(s) across. The Bottom Line Gifting someone your unused credit card points can be a great way to use points you may not have a plan for. And it can be a thoughtful gift for the rewards-card hacker on your list. But keep in mind that there is a lot to consider in terms of transaction costs and logistics. It might be a good idea to consider other options, too. For example, redeeming your points as cash and then gifting the money might be easier and cheaper. This also has the added advantage of potentially allowing you to claim a deduction on your taxes if donating cash to a charitable organization. Check with your financial or tax advisor to be sure. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Can you give credit card points to someone else? Yes. Many credit card rewards programs allow you to transfer your points to someone else. Keep an eye out for how long it takes for the points to transfer, if there's a minimum amount of points you're required to transfer, and if there are any fees involved. Can I transfer my Capital One or Amex points to someone else? Capital One allows certain points and miles transfers to other people. For example, Venture cardholders can transfer points to other Venture cardholders. You cannot transfer American Express points to another person, but you can use your points to make a charitable donation to one of Amex's partner charities. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. United Airlines: MileagePlus. "Donate Your Miles." American Express. "JustGiving FAQs: Can I Transfer Points to a Charity on JustGiving?" Click, "How do I use points on JustGiving?" Calibre CPA Group. "Taxability of Credit Card Cashback Rewards." IRS. "Part IV, Items of General Interest: Frequent Flyer Miles Attributable to Business or Official Travel." IRS. "What's New—Estate and Gift Tax." IRS. "Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes, How Many Annual Exclusions Are Available?." H&R Block. "Do I Have To Pay Taxes on a Gift?" Capital One. "Ways To Redeem Your Capital One Venture Miles." American Express. "Can I Transfer Membership Rewards Points to Another Person's Account?"