Jim Foster, a friend of Covenant and a supporter of local charities, wrote this week with a discovery he wanted to pass along.

A year into retirement, he realized something: the credit card points he had earned over the years had quietly piled up — and he had nearly forgotten them.

Many of us are in the same place:

• American Express Membership Rewards, Citi, Visa and Mastercard points sit in an account year after year
• Some people use them for travel; for many of us, they just accumulate
• The value in dollars is modest point by point — but added up, it can be real money

Jim linked his card points to his Amazon account, and then he put them to work. Using points at checkout, he placed around $1,500–$2,000 in Amazon orders supporting charities he cares about — orders where points applied at checkout can bring the total down, in his example, to $0.

How he did it:

• In Amazon account settings, choose the option to link card points (Shop with Points) and add your card — Amazon Support can help you set it up
• On the order page, choose to pay with points — the page shows how many dollars you can apply
• You will get an email when your points are linked, and another when you use them, and your Amazon invoice shows the record

Jim shared the idea with us — and with friends at other Covenant charities — because a forgotten source can become a real gift.

Check the points sitting in your account. They might already be the next needed supply for a young person working to get off the street.