Here is the link

I am not agree with everything that it says, like #7; apparently they mean some Discover and AMEX Cash Back programs.

But, I think this is good for people who are educating themselves about credit cards or as a recommendation to read to those who found themselves in credit traps.

Overall, I think it is a good resource.

#6 and #10 are funny.

6. American’s Are Up To Their Eyeballs in Credit Card Debt – According to the Motley fool, Americans have borrowed a total of $1,700,000,000,000 in consumer debt... and there was a total of $50,000,000,000 charged in finance charges annually.

Someone please check my arithmetic, but doesn't that come out to 2.9% APR? These days that beats inflation!


10. You Can’t Outsmart the Credit Card Industry – Credit card companies spend millions of dollars each year figuring out consumer habits and behaviors so that they can separate you from your money. They know how people act and how people think, and statistically will make money off of you. A lot of people think they are getting rich of the credit card industry through rewards points and arbitrage games, but the reality is that they’re not making much at all and are adding all sorts of risk into their life. Credit card companies can easily absorb these cost, because knows that statistically they will make much more money from people than they lose to a couple of people here and there not making the industry any money.

Looks like you can outsmart them after all!

9 is an interesting point. I have been thinking that must be true, but I did not read about any studies with hard numbers before.

Somebody left the Dave Ramsey Kool-Aid out and admin must have found it.

Of course the "discoverdebtfreedom" website wouldn't have any bias or interest in presenting the most scary picture of CC debt to visitors

First, I think the spelling mistakes add great value to that article. Some people will see them, realize the author and entire site staff are morons and any advice from them should be viewed with skepticism. Those who don't should probably follow the advice and I'd also recommend www.thingsthatcouldpokeyoureyeout.com for some alarming tips on dangers lurking in their own houses.

3. There’s No Maximum Interest Rate ...they could charge you whatever rate they pleased without telling you and it would be entirely legal to do so.

The bolded embellishment is certainly untrue.

9. Statistically You Spend More With Credit

This is also used by credit card companies as a sales pitch to merchants. But like many statistics, it's being spun to claim something it does not necessarily indicate. The problem is which is the cause, and which is the effect? Do some people spend more with a credit card than they would if they had to pay cash? Sure. But when credit is an option, do some people who would have paid cash choose to use a credit card instead? Absolutely. And in many cases their decision is based directly on the amount of the transaction. I've never seen any data with a breakdown that attempts to quantify how much of the difference in average transaction amounts for credit vs cash is due to each factor.

I agree that on average people spend more with credit, but like many references, this article throws out specific numbers and implies more than their data indicates.

3. There’s No Maximum Interest Rate ...they could charge you whatever rate they pleased without telling you and it would be entirely legal to do so.

The bolded embellishment is certainly untrue.

You are exactly right. Most credit card companies do not have a maximum interest rate due to the fact that they have decided to issue cards out of states that have no law that caps rates... however, ALL financial institutions must communicate interest rates and rate hikes to you. There would be nothing legal about raising the rate (unless it's a small increase due to a rising prime or libor rate) without fully communicating it in writing. The problem is that most people throw the letter in the trash without reading it.

PerkGetter said:

I've made thousands of dollars through rewards points and "arbitrage games" in the last couple of years alone, and that's without AOR activity. Lot's of these rewards are not even taxible. Yeah, sure big giant credit card company, please keep fooling me.

That is the point though, while the posters here are overwhelming in the profit from the credit card companies group, overall we are in a minority. The cc companies have no problem making the money back that they give to us from all the deadbeats out there. Considering these facts came from what looks like a debt reduction site, it is no wonder they claim "you can't outsmart the credit card industry".


naas said:#6 and #10 are funny.

6. American’s Are Up To Their Eyeballs in Credit Card Debt – According to the Motley fool, Americans have borrowed a total of $1,700,000,000,000 in consumer debt... and there was a total of $50,000,000,000 charged in finance charges annually.

Someone please check my arithmetic, but doesn't that come out to 2.9% APR? These days that beats inflation!

If these numbers actually are accurate I assume the borrowed total includes people who pay with a credit card and then pay off in full each month or only carry a balance for a month or two, obviously this will skew the apr.

Good grief. That looks like some late-night infomerical!
None of that is new, or ground-breaking or unique information.

article said:8. Credit Cards Only Serve One Purpose – If you haven’t figured it out yet, the credit card exist for one reason and one reason only—to put you into more debt. No one wants to have huge amounts of debt, so why make use of a tool that’s only purpose is to get you into debt? The best way to get out of credit card debt is to never get into it in the first place.

Uh...no...

How 'bout people smart enough to pay off their bill each month...get 10-45 days of float at 0%...and reap rebates and miles. I guess I should send the guy a copy of my 2 AMEX checks for $1700 from last year. What a pinhead.