Points.com is a way for consumers to buy, trade and redeem their credit card points or airline miles. They originally launched in 2002 to help consumers track their reward points and in 2012 they team up with paypal to allow consumers to redeem their points for paypal credit and other gift cards as well as trade points between programs.
Points.com says they can help you get the most from all your loyalty programs, from frequent flyers miles and hotel points to credit card rewards and more. To this end, their site allows you to Trade, Exchange, Buy, Give, or Redeem your points, miles, and rewards.
While joining Points.com in order to manage your accounts is free, there are fees associated with some of their functions. For example, in order to Trade points with another Points.com member, you both need to have accounts in each of the rewards programs you’re dealing with, and both members will need to pay a fee.
The fee for the trading transaction is dependent on what two programs you are using, as well as the amount of points you will be trading.
Exchanging points with another member does not cost a fee, however often the exchange ratio for programs is not 1:1, meaning that some points will be lost in the transaction, which has upset some members into calling the program a “ripoff.”