The New York Credit Union Association has issued a memorandum of support for a bill that delays the extended grace period for using credit card reward points. The bill has passed in the Senate and is currently on the floor calendar for a vote in the Assembly.

The legislation, passed last year and set to become effective in 2022, mandated a 90-day grace period to redeem rewards when a points program is terminated or modified. The Association supports S.9121/A.10490, which would postpone the effective date of Chapter 667, for one year and give issuers more time to bring their programs into compliance with the new mandate.

Credit card reward points are an important consumer benefit that has grown in “sophistication and scope” in recent years, and in their most basic form, financial institutions provide points to consumers who use an issuer’s credit card, according to the Association. These points can be redeemed for a broad range of services such as travel miles or merchant discounts.

“Day after day, credit unions work with their members, regulators, and third-party vendors to ensure that consumers receive optimal benefits while maintaining compliance with numerous state and federal rules and regulations,” the memorandum states “An additional one-year extension of the effective date will ensure impacted institutions have the time necessary to comply with this new mandate.”