Call Kurtis: Why You Could Lose Your Reward Points
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) -- Donna Salierno said her credit card took away her reward points when she found a fraudulent charge.
When the company wouldn't return them, it was time to Call Kurtis.
Salierno said it's about 6,000 points she lost, which were redeemable for gift cards, or cash back of about $50.
Should the credit card company take those away, if she's a victim of fraud?
Salierno knew her credit card had been compromised when she spotted this charge from a CVS in San Carlos on her statement.
"This had never happened to me before," she said.
Reporting it to her credit card company, they canceled her card, but she didn't expect they'd also cancel her reward points.
She says the company refused to give them back, saying there was nothing they could do.
"Stonewalled," she said.
Most credit cards reserve the right to cancel your reward points if you miss your payments, or if you don't make a purchase for a year or more.
Salierno's credit card agreement says if a card is lost of stolen "all accrued reward points will be applied to the replacement card."
"[I] just felt really frustrated and angry," she said.
"It says 'Rewards.' That's grabby," said Gary Almond of the Better Business Bureau. "That's what gets people's attention."
But Almond says it's never that simple.
Before closing a credit card, he thinks you should ask about what will happen to those points -- because the contract may allow the credit card to cancel the rewards.
"It's all contractual," he said.
After we got involved, Synchrony Financial, which runs Salierno's credit card, told us, "When a new .... account number aznd card are issued due to fraudulent activity, all reward points are transferred and are available for use."
Salierno said the company apologized and instead of crediting back her points agreed to cut her a check for $50 -- exactly what she wanted all along.
"I feel like justice was served," she said.
Call Kurtis never got an answer about why this happened to Salierno's card.
