NerdWallet > Credit Card Blog > Reward Program Reviews

KeyBank Points

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How much is a KeyBank Point worth? 1.00 cent. Although if you redeem in increments less than 10,000 points at a time, a point is only worth 0.50 cents. This annoying tactic to skim a few bucks out of your pocket leaves a bad taste in our mouths, and makes us even less inclined to recommend the unremarkable KeyBank Rewards cards.

Redemption Options.

Gift Cards, point value ranges from 0.50 cents to 1.50 cents

  • 5,000 points gets you a $25 gift certificate at Barnes & Noble, Cracker Barrel, Darden Restaurants, JCPenney, Options, Pier1, Toys r Us. This is a value of 0.5 cents per point.
  • Point values scale above 1 cent per point when you redeem 36,000 points or more. There are a few $500 gift cards cost 40,000 points, and a $1000 Sears costs 65,000 points.

Air Travel, point values range from 1.00 cent to 1.25 cents

  • 10,000 points gets you a $100 discount on any airfare.
  • 20,000 points gets you a $200 discount on any airfare.
  • 32,000 points gets you a $400 discount on any airfare.

Expiration.

  • Points expire 48 months after they are issued.

See for yourself at KeyBank’s redemption website.

  • Ian

    Short version: Key Rewards are now only $0.0067 per dollar and if you did not already redeem them you, like me, have lost 33% of your previous rewards.

    I have a KeyBank Student Rewards Credit card which was recently switched to a new card provider. I was assured that all of my rewards would transfer. I poured over the multiple documents regarding the switch and contacted customer service to verify that the current value would not be lost.

    My rewards were originally 1 cent per point as described above. However, upon redeeming 10,000 points as a statement credit I received only $67. The points were redeemed before the CSR told me the amount, leaving me no opportunity to refute the value of the points.

    At the time of the conversion to the new system, I had $88.09 in rebate dollars. After the switch to the new 0.67% payout I have lost $29.07 of these rewards. I was informed that April 24 was the final day to request a cash reward at full value, though this was never made clear in documentation or in discussions with customer service prior to that date.

    On June 9 between 3 and 4PM EST I was told by CSR Karen from Key's credit card department, who confirmed the information with her supervisor, that the reward points were transferred such that they could be redeemed at the same dollar value. For me, that $88.09 should have been converted to 13,148 points. After two hours on the phone I have already lost too much time from work to justify pursuing the discrepancy further with a written letter.

    So if you had rewards with KeyBank and did not redeem them prior to the new credit card handler switch, you should know that you have lost at least $.33 out of every dollar that you had previously earned.

  • Grumpy Grumpster

    thank you Ian. I have the same thing, and made the same inquiry when switching. I was ASSURED that my conversion would remain the same. I just got off the phone with them, and they said there is nothing they can do. I am now missing about 2,100 "points" (completely meaningless unit) if it is prorated for the 1% that it should be, and that they told me it was. That equates to $21 that I am owed by Key Bank, that they refuse to pay (Theresa at customer service).

    Time for a new card. I would not recommend this to anyone.