Credit card reward programs have rules around how you earn points, when you can redeem them and a number of other factors. Some of the most common conditions include:

• Point caps: This limits the number of points you can earn in a month or a year.
• Point expiry: Some reward program points expire after a set amount of time, which means if you don’t use them, you lose them.
• Redemption limitations: Sometimes you might be restricted from claiming particular rewards, particularly for flights and hotels. For example, you might not be able to book a flight using reward points during school holidays.
• Bonus point spending: A lot of reward cards offer thousands of bonus points when you sign up for them. To earn these points, you usually have to spend a certain amount of money within a month of activating the card.