Has anyone redeemed CC bonus points close to filing?

[BornAgain]

I've got a bunch of points with Chase and could redeem them for merchandise or gift cards at Starbucks, Borders, etc.. I hadn't really noticed that program before so they've just sat accumulating for a long time.

Now I'm wondering, we're about to file next month -- can I redeem those points without any negative repercussions?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks.

[lolasaurus]

Great question, I was just thinking about redeeming my $225 worth of amex gift cards from my points. Any reason I shouldn't do this?

[DebtEnder]

I'll let ya know as I filed today and ordered the gift cards from Capital One and Citibank last week

[monkatom]

I cashed mine in from several CC companies and had no problems

[lrprn]

The points on your credit cards aren't cash and aren't debt. You will most certainly lose all the points after filing when the cards are closed, so any redemption will have to take place before filing. The question is what is safe to redeem the points for.

Our lawyer was concerned back when we filed in 2006 that gift cards *might* be considered to be cash if our trustee found out about them, so that's why I went the household items route. That was 2 1/2 years ago - the trustees and local bk courts might be a little less skittish about gift cards now. That's something to check with your own lawyers before doing anything.

[yuckhatethis]

I redeemed mine right after I filed for gift cards. (CitiRewards) I would have redeemed them before, but I forgot about them until after I filed (I think I did it like the day after filing, I doubt they would have been there much longer)