For a full overview of the program, see How Bold Rewards Works.
What is Bold Rewards?
Bold Rewards is Bold.org's rewards program. It's built directly into the scholarship experience and lets you earn Bold Points for being active on the platform and for using the Bold Rewards Plugin while shopping online.
Bold Rewards is a rewards system designed to reduce real educational costs.
How do I earn Bold Points?
You earn Bold Points by:
Applying to scholarships
Completing and updating your Bold.org profile
Referring or nominating friends to scholarships
Completing Bold Points tasks
Participating in promotions or programs
Using the Bold Rewards Plugin while shopping online
You don't need to do anything special — points are earned automatically as you stay engaged.
What can I redeem Bold Points for?
Bold Points can currently be redeemed for:
Student loan payments (100 Bold Points = $0.75)
Additional redemption options are being added:
Tuition payments — coming soon
Cash payouts — coming soon
Your Rewards dashboard always reflects the current and authoritative set of available options.
How do I start redeeming?
Before you can redeem, you need to:
Complete the rewards onboarding (available on web and mobile)
Reach the 3,000 Bold Points lifetime threshold
Once both steps are complete, redemption is unlocked permanently and you can start redeeming from your Rewards dashboard.
How many Bold Points do I need to redeem?
You need 3,000 Bold Points (lifetime) to unlock redemptions. Once you reach that threshold, it stays unlocked permanently. Each individual redemption requires a minimum of 1,000 points, and redemptions must be in 100-point increments.
What happens to my balance when I redeem?
Your redeemed points are deducted from your balance immediately. For example, if you have 5,000 Bold Points and redeem 2,000, your balance drops to 3,000 right away.
If a redemption later fails or is cancelled, your points are returned to your balance automatically.
What do the redemption statuses mean?
After you redeem, you can track the status in your Rewards dashboard:
Pending — Payment has been initiated and is waiting for processing
Completed — Payment has been delivered to your loan servicer
Failed / Cancelled — Payment didn't go through; your points are returned to your balance automatically
Why can't I redeem odd amounts like 1,050 points?
Redemptions must be in 100-point increments. You can redeem 1,000, 1,100, 1,200, and so on — but not amounts like 1,050 or 1,075. Your Rewards dashboard will show the available redemption amounts.
Do Bold Points expire?
Yes. Bold Points expire after 90 days of no qualifying activity.
To help you stay on top of this:
You'll receive email reminders when points are approaching expiration
You can always see your point balance and expiration details in the Rewards tab
How do I prevent my points from expiring?
There are two ways to reset your 90-day window:
Earn additional Bold Points (through any eligible activity)
Either action keeps your points active for another 90 days.
I had points before the new system. What happens to them?
If you had Bold Points before the rewards system update, you have a 30-day window to complete a qualifying activity — either apply to a scholarship or earn additional Bold Points — to keep your existing balance. After 30 days without qualifying activity, pre-existing points will expire.
Where can I see my Bold Points and rewards status?
You can view:
Your Bold Points balance
Expiration timing
Redemption eligibility
Redemption history and statuses
Your All-Time Earnings total
All in the Rewards tab in your Bold.org account. Your Rewards dashboard is the authoritative source for all program information.
How much are Bold Points worth?
The value depends on the redemption option you choose:
Student loan payments: 100 Bold Points = $0.75
Redemption rates may vary by option. Your Rewards dashboard always shows the current rates.
How does my points balance work?
You have a single current balance that increases when you earn points and decreases when you redeem. Your current balance is what you can use. Your Rewards dashboard always shows the latest.
How long does a loan payment redemption take?
After you redeem Bold Points for a student loan payment, it typically takes approximately one week for the payment to be fully processed and applied. You can track the status of your redemption in your Rewards dashboard.
What happens if my redemption fails?
If a redemption fails or is cancelled, your points are returned to your balance automatically. You don't need to take any action — the points will reappear in your Rewards dashboard.
I'm no longer earning points for an activity I used to get points for. Why?
Some point-earning activities have a maximum number of times you can earn points for them. If you've reached the limit for a specific activity, you won't earn additional points for it — but there are still many other ways to earn points on the platform.
Check your Rewards dashboard to see which activities still have points available.