Common questions about the Bold Rewards Plugin, pending points, and troubleshooting. For a full overview of the program, see How Bold Rewards Works.
Do I need the Bold Rewards Plugin to earn points?
No. You can earn Bold Points through many on-platform activities. However, the plugin is required to earn points from online shopping and discounts.
Does the Bold Rewards Plugin cost anything?
No. The Bold Rewards Plugin is completely free.
What does the plugin track?
The Bold Rewards Plugin only tracks eligible purchases at participating retailers to award points and savings. It does not access your academic information.
Do I need to manage or activate the plugin every time I shop?
No. Once installed, the plugin works automatically in the background when you shop at participating retailers.
Why don't I see my Bold Points yet, or why are they pending?
If you see points from the Bold Rewards Plugin listed as pending, that's normal.
Points earned through shopping go through a pending state. Pending points are visible in your history but are not counted in your redeemable balance. They become redeemable once the retailer fully confirms the transaction.
The dates shown in your Rewards tab reflect when the purchase was made, not when points become available.
Each retailer follows its own confirmation timeline, usually based on return or cancellation policies. For example:
If a store allows returns within 30 days, points may only become available after that period
If an item is returned or canceled, pending points will be removed
This ensures that points are only awarded for completed and validated purchases.
Why haven't my Bold Points shown up yet?
In some cases, Bold Points can take 24–48 hours to appear on your profile after completing an eligible activity.
If you're still not seeing your points after that timeframe, feel free to send us screenshots of the activities or opportunities you completed. We're happy to take a closer look and manually assign the points if needed.
I reached 3,000 points — why can't I redeem?
Most often, this happens because:
You haven't completed the rewards onboarding yet (available on web and mobile)
Some points are still pending and not counted toward your redeemable balance
Your available balance is below 1,000 even if your total includes pending points
You're trying to redeem an amount that isn't in 100-point increments
Check your Rewards dashboard for your available point balance and current redemption options. Student loan payments are currently available, with tuition payments and cash payouts coming soon.