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Is this considered maaser?

Question:

If I donate cc points to buy a poor person a ticket to Europe to daven at kivrei tzadikim can I count this as maaser or is this not considered a necessary need and therefore would not be maaser?

 

Answer:

Thank you for your question.

Your cc points are worth money, therefore if they would be given to a poor person etc. you can count that towards your maser money. The real question here is, is this considered a need, for which we would have to give the poor person tzedakah? The general rule with giving tzedakah to a poor person, is to provide him with his needs “asher yechsar lo”- what is missing for him. Therefore, the answer to your question really depends on who the person is, and his situation. If the person is someone that this is very important to him, then it would be considered tzedakah, however if it is just considered an extra even for him, then not.

As a side point, the value of the credit card points, is considered income, and you should calculate it into your earnings for the year.

Best wishes

 

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