Comments on: Dirty Money http://quarterlifefinances.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/dirty-money/ I'm just a girl in the world, avoiding a Quarterlife Crisis by taking charge of my life and my finances! Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:18:00 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Saving My Bacon http://quarterlifefinances.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/dirty-money/#comment-167 Saving My Bacon Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:56:51 +0000 http://quarterlifefinances.wordpress.com/?p=60#comment-167 Hmm, that's interesting...I had never thought about CC rewards in that way. CC companies provide perks like rewards or cash back as an incentive to be brand loyal - just like Airlines have frequently flyer programs - and I don't think that customers should feel guilty about this. Whether or not customers participate in rewards programs isn't going to change the fact that CC companies make most of their money off of people who carry debt and have delinquent accounts. On a somewhat related note - I recently thought about changing my cash rewards AMEX into a Delta SkyMiles AMEX...but when I read the fine print, I realized that the Delta AMEX had a much higher APR and a $149 annual fee. I decided to stick to my current card because, even with all the miles that I could potentially earn, I couldn't justify such a big annual fee. So, I guess perks sometimes come at a cost too! Hmm, that’s interesting…I had never thought about CC rewards in that way.

CC companies provide perks like rewards or cash back as an incentive to be brand loyal – just like Airlines have frequently flyer programs – and I don’t think that customers should feel guilty about this. Whether or not customers participate in rewards programs isn’t going to change the fact that CC companies make most of their money off of people who carry debt and have delinquent accounts.

On a somewhat related note – I recently thought about changing my cash rewards AMEX into a Delta SkyMiles AMEX…but when I read the fine print, I realized that the Delta AMEX had a much higher APR and a $149 annual fee. I decided to stick to my current card because, even with all the miles that I could potentially earn, I couldn’t justify such a big annual fee. So, I guess perks sometimes come at a cost too!

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