Credit card issuers like American Express and Citi are making it easier than ever to earn and redeem points during quarantine

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Many travel rewards credit card benefits are currently unusable due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, so card issuers have rolled out new perks tailored to life in quarantine.
Capital One is letting select cardholders redeem miles to cover food delivery, streaming service, and mobile phone purchases.
Chase introduced a valuable Pay Yourself Back option that lets you use points for groceries, dining, and home-improvement purchases.
If you have an American Express card, you may see Amex Offers for cash back on wine purchases, or for bonus points on food delivery.
See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards.

In the scheme of things, not being able to fully maximize your rewards credit cards during the coronavirus pandemic isn't the biggest problem. But many of the best rewards cards charge high annual fees, and several of their top benefits like airport lounge access and bonus rewards are related to travel, so it can feel difficult to justify the fees when you can't put those perks to use.

Luckily, in addition to extending customers various relief programs like the ability to request payment deferrals, credit card issuers are making adjustments to their rewards programs — and, in the case of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, even offering a statement credit to reduce the annual fee.

Here's a breakdown of what types of new benefits you can expect with each major card issuer. We'll continue to update this list as other issuers add new features and the ones already included here update and add to their rewards programs. Also see our list of airlines and hotels that are extending elite status.

Table of Contents

American Express

Limited-time spending bonuses

To adjust for the fact that most cardholders aren't spending money on travel, American Express rolled out limited-time rewards opportunities on some of its cards.

The first round of bonuses ended in July, but Amex-issued Marriott cards including the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card are currently offering 10 points per dollar at US gas stations, US restaurants, and on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels through October 31. The 10x points bonus is capped at $7,500 per each of the three spending categories.

Statement credits for streaming and more

Three Amex cards are currently offering statement credits for money back when you make certain qualifying purchases.

If you have the Platinum Card® from American Express, you can get up to $320 in statement credits for select streaming services and wireless telephone services purchased directly from US service providers (up to $20 each month from May to December). This could go a long way toward justifying the premium travel card's $550 annual fee, since many of its usual perks are travel-focused. If you have the Amex Platinum, you can also get up to $100 back on a Dell purchase of $100 or more through January 31, 2021 when you enroll in the relevant Amex Offer.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, meanwhile, is offering up to $320 in statement credits for wireless telephone services purchased directly from US service providers and shipping purchases in the US (up to $20 each month from May to December). The Business Platinum card can also get you up to $400 in statement credits for US Dell purchases. The card usually offers up to $200 in Dell statement credits per calendar year, but the benefit was increased by $200 during quarantine.

Finally, the American Express® Green Card is offering up to $80 in statement credits when you use the card for wireless telephone services purchased directly from US service providers (up to $10 per month from May to December).

Social distancing-appropriate Amex Offers

Not only does The Platinum Card® from American Express offer great purchase protection, but it also comes with Amex Offers that can save money or earn bonus rewards when you shop online.

For instance, while I typically see deals for saving money with travel brands like Hilton and Marriott, lately the offers on my Platinum Card® from American Express have been more geared toward life spent close to home. I've taken advantage of two Amex Offers for cash back on wine, including $30 back on a purchase of $100 or more at Wine.com.

American Express Platinum Card® from American Express

Apple Card

The popular Apple Card, issued by Goldman Sachs, gets its own section because, as CNBC reports, it's now offering 3% cash back at Exxon and Mobil gas stations. And more recently, the card added Panera to the list of 3% cash-back categories.

These bonus categories are in addition to 3% cash back on purchases with Apple, Uber, Walgreens, T-Mobile, and Nike, 2% back on purchases made with Apple Pay, and 1% cash back on everything else.

Bank of America

New ways to use points to cover purchases

In mid-June, Bank of America added a new option for using points from the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card. According to Doctor of Credit, the issuer emailed cardholders to let them know that they can use points to cancel out grocery and dining purchases (including takeout).

Usually, you can only use points from the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card to offset travel expenses, but this new option for grocery and dining purchases is available now through December 31. Even better, you can use your points to cancel out grocery and dining purchases made over the past 12 months.

A new statement credit benefit

If you have the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card, you can get up to $50 in statement credits when you use your card to make purchases at a grocery store or on dining or takeout. This benefit will be available through December 31.

Capital One

Use Venture miles to cover food delivery and streaming services

Acknowledging that most cardholders aren't traveling right now, Capital One introduced some new options for using miles. If you have the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, you can use miles to cover food delivery purchases made with your card. You can also use your miles to cancel out charges for streaming services including Hulu and Netflix. This redemption option is available until September 30.

Use Spark miles to cover mobile phone payments

If you have the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business or the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business, you also have a new option for using your miles. According to Frequent Miler, you can use miles from either of these business cards to erase select mobile phone payments from your statement. Additionally, you can use miles to cover eligible food delivery charges.

Eligible wireless phone service providers include AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. This category includes phone bills and other purchases made with these providers.

Bonus rewards with Uber Eats

If you have the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card, or the Capital One® SavorOne® Cash Rewards Credit Card, you can earn extra rewards, respectively, when you order delivery through Uber Eats.

The Savor cards will earn 5% cash back, and the Venture cards will earn 5x miles, on Uber eats purchases through January 2021.

Chase

Redeem your points to cover dining, groceries, and home improvement

Chase just introduced a new option for using your Ultimate Rewards points: Pay Yourself Back. As of May 31, if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can redeem points to cover dining, groceries, and home-improvement purchases made with your Sapphire card.

If you have the Sapphire Reserve, your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece, and if you have the Sapphire Preferred, your points are worth 1.25 cents apiece. Either of these rates is better than the standard rate of 1 cent per point for cash redemptions, so if you have a lot of Chase points, this could be a great option for cutting down on you everyday expenses.

Earn bonus Chase points on Instacart, gas stations, and select streaming services

Through September 30, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® will earn bonus points on three new categories of spending: Instacart grocery delivery, gas stations, and select streaming services including Netflix.

You'll be able to earn up to 10x points on these purchases, with caps of $1,500 (then 1x) spent on gas stations and streaming services and $3,000 spent on Instacart. Plus, if you have the Sapphire Reserve, you can get up to $50 in statement credits to cover the cost of Instacart Express membership, which costs $99 a year or $9.99 per month.

Chase Marriott card bonuses

Marriott co-branded credit cards from Chase, including the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card, are currently offering 10x points on purchases at restaurants and gas stations. You can earn 10 points per dollar on up to $3,500 in spending when you register for this promotion. It runs through September 15.

Citi

Limited-time bonus categories

Citi Prestige® Card cardholders will earn 5x points on all online purchases through August 31, up to 7,500 points (up to $1,500 in purchases). Eligible online purchases include everything from retailer website orders, online grocery orders, and online drugstore orders.

Additionally, Citi expedited some of its planned changes to theCiti Premier℠ Card. That card will now earn 3x points on supermarket purchases and restaurant purchases (including takeout and curbside pickup).

Use Citi points and cash back toward the minimum payment required

You can always redeem Citi points to receive cash back in the form of a statement credit on your credit card bill, but during the pandemic Citi is also offering some cardholders the ability to use Citi points or cash back specifically toward the minimum payment due for your bill.

This feature will be available through November 7. To check if you're eligible, log into your online account or the Citi mobile app and look for COVID-19 relief options on the Rewards Details page.

More ways to use the Citi Prestige's $250 annual travel credit

Citi's also temporarily expanding the categories that qualify for the Citi Prestige card's $250 annual statement credit. While it usually only applies to travel purchases, from May through December the credit will be applied toward purchases at supermarkets and restaurants.

Courtesy credit upon card renewal for eligible Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® customers

Citi's also offering a courtesy credit to eligible customers with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®, the high-end American Airlines card that offers Admirals Club membership in exchange for a $450 annual fee. If you had an open account as of March 31 and prior, you'll get a $225 courtesy credit upon your card renewal. That could make it easier to justify keeping the card open even when you're not able to use its airline benefits.

Flight-discount and companion certificates are getting extended

Additionally, Citi's offering a six-month extension of flight-discount certificates on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® for customers whose certificates are set to expire between March 31, 2020 and May 31, 2021.

And if you have the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® with a companion certificate set to expire on December 31, 2020, you'll get a six-month extension, with your certificate now expiring on June 30, 2021.