Once you’ve earned your miles, you would think you could access them quickly, but that isn’t always the case. The length of time for rewards to post to your account varies depending on the issuer:
American Express. Within 72 hours of receiving the payment (or, up to eight to 12 weeks after qualifying for the welcome offer)
Bank of America. Rewards post right away, but may take until after the billing statement closes to be redeemable (or, up to eight to 12 weeks after qualifying for the welcome offer)
Capital One. Rewards post within 10 days, but may take up to two billing cycles to be redeemable (or, within one to two billing cycles after qualifying for the welcome offer)
Chase. Rewards quickly appear as “pending,” but may take until after the billing statement closes to be redeemable (or, within six to eight weeks after qualifying for the welcome offer)
Citi. Rewards post within a few days (or, within eight to ten billing weeks after qualifying for the welcome offer)
Discover. Rewards post within two billing cycles, but may take up to two billing cycles to be redeemable (or, within two billing cycles after qualifying for the first-year offer)