Are Wachovia Credit Card Rewards Points Safe?

This morning, the Wall Street crisis really hit home for me. Citigroup purchased my bank, Wachovia. I had noticed Wachovia's shares falling over the last week, largely because of its hefty mortgage debt, and the thought that it could fail crossed my mind. But because I have nowhere close to the $100,000 limit that the FDIC insures, I was mainly concerned about logistics: Would my credit and debit cards still work? What about my credit card rewards points?

So far, since the purchase was announced, my account is functioning as normal, and Wachovia assures its customers that we should "continue banking as usual, and feel confident that their deposits are secure."

But just to be safe, I did tell my husband to cash out the rest of his substantial buildup of rewards points this morning, and it sounds like that may have been a good idea. Wachovia spokeswoman Mary Eshet told me: "Today, nothing has changed for anyone. As we proceed, I'm sure somewhere down the road, Citigroup and Wachovia will look at what various rewards programs are in place. But as of today, nothing changes." To me, that means rewards points holders might want to consider rewarding themselves sooner rather than later.

If you have any other questions about the safety of your money, please post them below, and we,ll try to answer them.