Points Balance Intact After a Brutal Week in the Market

The past week or so has been brutal in the financial markets and who knows how long the trend will continue for. For sure my investments took a major hit, but I am happy to say that my points portfolio remains intact. It actually grew during this time because I continued to earn points.

If you have investments, it will work both ways. Our investments can grow on its own, but our points portfolio doesn’t grow as it does not earn any sort of return just for sitting there. Too bad we can’t even a 1% interest on our points portfolio just for leaving it there.

This is why I love to see conversion and promotional bonuses. For example, I recently converted some American Express Membership Rewards and took advantage of the 25% transfer bonus to British Airways. It’s always nice to earn a 25% bonus on all our hard earned points. The promotion ends on September 30, 2015, so you still have time to jump on board.

Also note that the 20% Asia Miles conversion bonus with RBC Rewards is ending on August 31, 2015.

An amazing promotion to take advantage of is the Time to Accelerate offer by IHG Rewards. You will need register (for free) for this promotion to qualify. Every account member will have a customized offer to earn bonus points.

I’m sure the market will bounce back at some point, but the volatility is stressful for sure. Always keep in mind that points hold a certain value and they can really come in handy when the market takes a bit hit. What I mean is that if my investments take a beating, I wouldn’t want to sell any of my investments to pay for an upcoming trip that I have planned. I would prefer to leave my investments where they are so that they have some time to recover the losses.

Instead, if I had a well diversified points portfolio, I wouldn’t need to depend on my money to fund a trip. I can just use my points instead of taking money out of my wallet. It does sound like common sense, but not everyone is interested in putting in the effort to build up a points portfolio. But this is yet another reason why I work so hard to rack up the loyalty points!