Have extra Careem reward points that are expiring? Here’s how you can use them

Careem points expire twice a year, but they can be spent on a number of things from discounts to donations

Careem launched its Super App last month, a foray into FinTech for the ride-hailing giant. Courtesy Careem

Jun 30, 2020

You might be so used to using the services of home-grown app Careem that you might not have even noticed the number of rewards points you're racking up in the process.

From left to right: Marcello Baricordi, Visa’s General Manager for MENA; Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and CEO of Careem; Junaid Iqbal, Managing Director of Careem Pay; and Otto Williams, Vice President, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fintechs and Ventures, CEMEA at Visa. Courtesy Visa

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Careem rewards started in February 2019, and since then, the company has expanded the programme to include donations to refugees, as well as allowing customers to redeem points for credit to use against Careem services. Customers can also use points to receive services from Careem's partner's, such as Anghami, Shahid, JustMop and Washmen, for free or at a discounted rate.

How it works:

You automatically earn points on every eligible ride and order. The number of points you earn depends on the amount of money you spend and the services you spend it on. For every Dh1 spent on Careem services, be it for taxis or food, you earn about 15 points.

The points are calculated based on actual spend on Careem. Unpaid or free rides, or those booked with a promo code, do not earn any points.

What you can do with these points:

You can spend them on the rewards mentioned above. Simply open the rewards page in the app and choose from a number of discounts and donations.

Some of the rewards include a two-hour cleaning session with JustMop (if you have 19,550 points), a 25 per cent discount on Washmen (if you have 12,000 points) and a one-month subscription of Anghami plus (if you have 10,500 points).

Don't let them go to waste:

However, if you don’t spend them every six to 12 months, Careem points expire. Points earned between January 1 and June 30 expire on December 31 of the same year and points earned between July 1 and December 31 expire on June 30 the following year. That means all your points racked up last year may very well be expiring tonight.

However, fret not, there are several ways you can use these points in a meaningful way.

You can donate them to help the less fortunate, with only 2,000 points needed to feed a child for a day.

Meanwhile, the more points you've accumulated, the more you can help. If you have 4,750 points, these can be used to teach a child for a day, 12,000 points can feed a child for a week and 11,000 points can be used to donate a textbook.

So, why not take advantage of the initiative and use this as an opportunity to give back?