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I think the subtitle makes perfect sense. "What has your rewards card done for you lately? Not much most likely."
Out of all the reward cards I have, only a couple make sense. Sony card, Chase Rewards, Capital One, fee free airline cards... all these cards have reward systems far worse than some of my Citi cards or a 2% Household bank card. We have a case of a loud main title rather than a stupid article.
agentpt5 said:You are assuming that some actually read the article before spreading their ignorance and hatred. You have over-estimated them. Unlike Slashdot, people here rtfa, present company excluded of course.
I think this CNN article is very good for FWers. It discourages newbies. Less credit card applicants mean more aggressive reward promos, which means more money for FWers
I have found my AMEX Blue Cash to be straightforward and worthwhile rewards card.
But they are sure right about airline miles: I had 43,000 miles built up from an old my NW airlines Worldperks card, which I decided to finally cash in this summer. During the 2 week period I could have flown, there were ZERO flights available (out of few hundred) at the 25,000 mile level. I ended up having to use 50,000 points, and paying $90 just to transfer 7000 points from my wife's account. Including $15 booking fee, I paid $105 plus 50,000 points for one lousy ticket to Milwaukee. IMHO airline miles are just another scam.
Considering the avarage Joe's personal finance knowledge, pretty good article IMO.
Honestly, I think a lot of us FW'ers occasionally forget that a giant portion of the population is financially challenged. This article is obviously absurd to anyone who is already on this board. But, to the people who run up credit card debt or take out ridiculous mortgages, sadly, this article is news to them.
article said:"If the rates are high, the cost to carry a balance will often erase any savings the rewards program may offer," said Amanda Walker, senior project editor at Consumer Reports.
It's amazing to me how many people cannot figure a way around this problem.
revheck said:I have found my AMEX Blue Cash to be straightforward and worthwhile rewards card.
But they are sure right about airline miles: I had 43,000 miles built up from an old my NW airlines Worldperks card, which I decided to finally cash in this summer. During the 2 week period I could have flown, there were ZERO flights available (out of few hundred) at the 25,000 mile level. I ended up having to use 50,000 points, and paying $90 just to transfer 7000 points from my wife's account. Including $15 booking fee, I paid $105 plus 50,000 points for one lousy ticket to Milwaukee. IMHO airline miles are just another scam.
If you use them intelligently, they are of really great value. Look @ flyertalk. The best value can be obtained by redeeming leisure first/business class tickets.
Cnn caters to "American Heros" and card rewards are really complicated for those folks...
CNN said:Research has shown that credit card customers are tempted to charge more in order to earn points...It would be really cool if someone would invent some standardized medium that allows simple definition and access to cross references. Think about the trust journalists could build. Instead of unsubstantiated claims like "studies have shown..." or "experts agree...", proof could be easily available to skeptics or those who just happen to be interested in the topic.
If you use them inteeligently, they are of reaaly great. Look @ flyertalk. The best value can be obtained by redeeming leisure first/business calss tickets.
Cnn caters to "American Heros" and card rewards are really complicated for those folks...
Definitely. I've used miles from cards to fly in F and C (or I, whatever) from here to Europe a few times and Japan a few more, each flight including a stopover of a few days somewhere other than my destination. Getting tickets that would have cost upwards of $10-15k is not unusual, and is rather painless with the ability to more or less check Star Alliance availability online. Considering the cost to me to get the miles is essentially the fee for the cards I think it's worth it. I do agree with the part about using miles quickly, but if people are confused by the use of these things (and cannot find sources of help) then they deserve to have problems. I would like to thank those with credit problems for subsidizing my vacations. I would also like to encourage people to keep using miles for domestic awards in coach.
SlimTim said:CNN said:Research has shown that credit card customers are tempted to charge more in order to earn points...It would be really cool if someone would invent some standardized medium that allows simple definition and access to cross references. Think about the trust journalists could build. Instead of unsubstantiated claims like "studies have shown..." or "experts agree...", proof could be easily available to skeptics or those who just happen to be interested in the topic.
or if you are a FW junkie, use Discover and add bonus to the CashBack amount by getting affiliated merchant gift cards - Staples, BB, Chillis, JCP and so on.
Shrug, we use our SPG points. Next month we're going to SF and getting a nice hotel room for free. We're putting in a new kitchen right now and the various points and 0% cards we have will allow us to get various home depot gift cards, free loans and free hotel stays on money we were going to spend anyway.
Incidentally, we could pay for it straight with cash, but why would we do that if we can use Sears, AMEX, Discover, etc to get more out of our money?
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