Applying credit card for cash back reward

OneEyedDiva said:
In my case and probably others here who use cash wisely, I have to disagree with your above statements. I use my credit cards to pay for basic things I need that I'd otherwise not get a dime in rewards for if I used cash or checks. Ya know... like food, my prescriptions, articles of clothing and obligatory charity, just to name a few. I will never skimp on vacations, so take them whenever possible.
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except how much do you get back for every dollar you spend????
 

rbtvgo said:
except how much do you get back for every dollar you spend????
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we get back as much as 7-1/2% when they run certain special categories..

we get back 5% on groceries .

4.50% on travel

as much as 10% on hotels

plus thousands of dollars for taking the card.

there are different points for different categories on different cards.

it amounts to thousands each year
 
I am going to make a statement that does not require a reply. Most people pay off there credit card every month?? okay! Most people get 35 miles a gallon in their cars?? okay! Most people have low electric bills and most people spent less to buy their car then the dealers price?? okay! Most people pay for their children's college tuition yet most kids are stuck with a huge bill. What am I missing here between truth and fiction?
Cash back has it's merits but it is not promoted to save you money as much as it makes them money. Case in point, airline miles. you have these points yet they don't apply., surprisingly. with where you would like to go. Deals in that area are not available but you could go to "no one can pronounce the name" for next to nothing.
These products serve the credit card companies.
just my opinion.
rbtvgo
 

rbtvgo said:
I am going to make a statement that does not require a reply. Most people pay off there credit card every month?? okay! Most people get 35 miles a gallon in their cars?? okay! Most people have low electric bills and most people spent less to buy their car then the dealers price?? okay! Most people pay for their children's college tuition yet most kids are stuck with a huge bill. What am I missing here between truth and fiction?
Cash back has it's merits but it is not promoted to save you money as much as it makes them money. Case in point, airline miles. you have these points yet they don't apply., surprisingly. with where you would like to go. Deals in that area are not available but you could go to "no one can pronounce the name" for next to nothing.
These products serve the credit card companies.
just my opinion.
rbtvgo
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make them money ? chase lost 200 to 300 million on benefits on the premium sapphire cards we have .

they are loss leaders ..they hope to get you to use other profitable bank services.

JAMIE DIMON said he wished it was 400 million since chase hopes to increase in business in other areas .

so don’t think these perks from cards are a profitable business .they aren’t .they just hope to attract customers who have needs for other stuff the bank does
 
Chase is always sending me emails saying I can pay certain expenses over time. That is where they make their money. I never pay anything over time. I pay everything off. I still get cash back or rewards points.
 
rbtvgo said:
Cash back has it's merits but it is not promoted to save you money as much as it makes them money.
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Credit card companies are competitive, because there so many out there. Offering cash back helps them make more money than their competitors, so they design different benefits in attempt to corner niche markets. Cash back at different rates on different categories, low interest rates, high interest for high risk consumers, and sometimes just plain misleading benefits, like points that can only be used to buy merchandise from a specific source, or expiring time limits. Of course their biggest income comes from people who use credit cards like long term bank loans.
 
the biggest perks are from the premium cards which don’t have many carrying balances on them .

the golden rule of premium cards is never carry a balance…

we make out every year with our sapphire reserve and sapphire preferred cards despite a 550 a year fee for the reserve and 95 for the preferred .

since we do a lot of weekends away trips as opposed to flying trips we make out all the time with these two cards.

a side from thousands of dollars in points for taking them the perks are excellent .

plus chase allows us to take all the points my wife gets on her sapphire preferred card and move them to my reserve card where when we book our little getaways through the chase/ expedia site we get 10% back and any points we use get multiplied by 50% in value.

we took a totally free trip to chicago including top hotel , air fair and transportation using points
 
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I don't mean to offend anyone. We are all in the same boat. We work hard, pay our bills. Try to set up a budget. Try to meet all our obligations and improve our lives as best we can. Home improvement loans, cash back offers all offer options. I have used them all raising a family and trying to find ways to provided much needed vacations and some of the things that I think my efforts and exhaustion should provide. Never the less my years have taught me that nothing is free and unless you pay out right you will owe someone something. Cash back has the illusion of paying you back for something you couldn't really afford in the first place. Pennies back on the dollars you spend. Go to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and put your 4 dollar purchase on your card, (3 stars for every dollar spent and you need 100 stars to get a free cup of coffee. In other words you need to spend 33 dollars to get a free cup of 4 dollar coffee}. The illusion is what they sell. The illusion is what we buy.
Pay cash or don't buy and watch how your monthly expenses go down. Starbucks is not doing anything wrong nor are any of the banks offering cash back.
 
rbtvgo said:
I don't mean to offend anyone. We are all in the same boat. We work hard, pay our bills. Try to set up a budget. Try to meet all our obligations and improve our lives as best we can. Home improvement loans, cash back offers all offer options. I have used them all raising a family and trying to find ways to provided much needed vacations and some of the things that I think my efforts and exhaustion should provide. Never the less my years have taught me that nothing is free and unless you pay out right you will owe someone something. Cash back has the illusion of paying you back for something you couldn't really afford in the first place. Pennies back on the dollars you spend. Go to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and put your 4 dollar purchase on your card, (3 stars for every dollar spent and you need 100 stars to get a free cup of coffee. In other words you need to spend 33 dollars to get a free cup of 4 dollar coffee}. The illusion is what they sell. The illusion is what we buy.
Pay cash or don't buy and watch how your monthly expenses go down. Starbucks is not doing anything wrong nor are any of the banks offering cash back.
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all our free things we get from our points says you are incorrect …you can get rebated on the things you buy or let what you spend give you nothing back. , it’s your choice..

if you saw money laying on the street you would pick it up wouldn’t you ?

well it’s no different .

those who exhibit poor financial behavior and rack up balances and bills they don’t need are not the same people wracking up big rebates in points especially with the premium cards since most carry no balance
 
JustDave said:
Credit card companies are competitive, because there so many out there. Offering cash back helps them make more money than their competitors, so they design different benefits in attempt to corner niche markets. Cash back at different rates on different categories, low interest rates, high interest for high risk consumers, and sometimes just plain misleading benefits, like points that can only be used to buy merchandise from a specific source, or expiring time limits. Of course their biggest income comes from people who use credit cards like long term bank loans.
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The terms are not misleading when one actually takes time to read the terms and conditions. Usually the discount offers from certain merchants are clearly stated within an email and/or on the banks' pages with expiration dates clearly shown. Like you, I also find credit cards more convenient than cash. I can instantly see just what I spent and where. When I used cash, I lost track and often wondered WTH did I buy?! :unsure:

@seadoug I never accept those offers to pay over time either. I don't care if a couple of thousand dollars is on the card (it has happened under special circumstances), I pay the balance in full.

@rbtvgo You asked how much I get back on every dollar I spend. It depends on the card used, the bonus categories I take advantage of per quarter and other factors. For instance, BOA offered 15% back on a Chewy (pet supplies) order. That wound up being 31 cents on the dollar. Chase and Discover have 5% cash back categories which change every quarter, so that's 5 cents on every dollar. Put in perspective, if $1,125 is spent on food during the bonus periods, that's $56.25.

So the question for you is..would that $56.25 serve you better if it is in your pockets or the bank's? As previously mentioned and perhaps you didn't see it, my cash back rewards totaled $1,100 last year. That's enough to pay our utility bills for just short of an entire year. I also mentioned previously that over the past 10 years I've gotten back $10,000 or more. None of that money gets eaten up by paying interest because that's something I haven't done in 50 years.
 
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OneEyedDiva said:
The terms are not misleading when one actually takes time to read the terms and conditions. Usually the discount offers from certain merchants are clearly stated within an email and/or on the banks' pages with expiration dates clearly shown. Like you, I also find credit cards more convenient than cash. I can instantly see just what I spent and where. When I used cash, I lost track and often wondered WTH did I buy?! :unsure:

@seadoug I never accept those offers to pay over time either. I don't care if a couple of thousand dollars is on the card (it has happened under special circumstances), I pay the balance in full.

@rbtvgo You asked how much I get back on every dollar I spend. It depends on the card used, the bonus categories I take advantage of per quarter and other factors. For instance, BOA offered 15% back on a Chewy (pet supplies) order. That wound up being 31 cents on the dollar. Chase and Discover have 5% cash back categories which change every quarter, so that's 5 cents on every dollar. Put in perspective, if $1,125 is spent on food during the bonus periods, that's $56.25.

So the question for you is..would that $56.25 serve you better if it is in your pockets or the bank's? As previously mentioned and perhaps you didn't see it, my cash back rewards totaled $1,100 last year. That's enough to pay our utility bills for just short of an entire year. I also mentioned previously that over the past 10 years I've gotten back $10,000 or more. None of that money gets eaten up by paying interest because that's something I haven't done in 50 years.
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it is no different then those opposed to investing .

they hide under a rock and then complain how little they make on their money over time .

if one exhibits poor investor behavior then yeah they should stay away . if one exhibits poor self control or poor financial habits then yeah they should stay away from credit cards .

but the silly logic they use for not benefiting from either is , well just silly to those who know better
 
OneEyedDiva said:
The terms are not misleading when one actually takes time to read the terms and conditions. Usually the discount offers from certain merchants are clearly stated within an email and/or on the banks' pages with expiration dates clearly shown.
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I think you are right. The terms are usually there in the fine print, and much clearer that what is printed on the outside of the envelope that is designed to put you in the desired mindset. I call that misleading. Others may just see it as advertising, but advertising is often purposely misleading. As you point out, it's wise to read the fine print closely and basically disregard anything in bold print at the top of the mailing.
 
Liberty said:
Does anyone know of a card (not amazon) that offers 5% off on groceries all year and has no annual fee?
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Walmart offers 5%, but goes to 1% or 2% after one year depending on what you are buying while it trains you to use the card the first year, and during that first year it does not apply to in store shopping, but only to curbside pickup.

Any card that pays more than 2% for groceries that I've seen does not apply to Walmart or Target, because those stores in particular do not code grocery items as groceries. This can apply to any grocery store that codes things idiosyncratically. Costco may be that way too, but it's is never mentioned specifically as one of the noncomplying stores.
 
JustDave said:
I think you are right. The terms are usually there in the fine print, and much clearer that what is printed on the outside of the envelope that is designed to put you in the desired mindset. I call that misleading. Others may just see it as advertising, but advertising is often purposely misleading. As you point out, it's wise to read the fine print closely and basically disregard anything in bold print at the top of the mailing.
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I agree about the misleading part. Too many companies engage in and get away with it.

@Liberty "Does anyone know of a card (not amazon) that offers 5% off on groceries all year and has no annual fee?" I don't know of any Liberty, but with the ridiculous prices Amazon charges for some of their food items, they need to be offering 5%! :sneaky:American Express offers 3% on groceries but I stopped using the card because they only pay cash backs when they reach $25. With using the other cards during 5% bonus periods (6 - 9 months a year), it takes me too long to reach that $25.
 

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I find all the comments interesting and realistic. As I said I have utilized all the options as I raised my family and made my way thru life. What I was trying to say is if you borrow money then you pay for it. A 25.00 shirt on credit will cost you more then 25.00 when you pay it off unless you paid cash.
I dispute the statement that 50% of people pay off their credit cards every month. Visa isn't rich because they don't collect interest on debt owed.
As to understanding all the programs, details, inclusions, exclusions. I have not got the time to devote my energy to determine which company, program or deal is going to save me a buck 35. If I had the time great! I don't. What I do know is that if you pay cash....you don't owe another penny to anyone. That is my point.
I could count coupons and only buy what was on sale. I could research and determine what was the best deal based on my credit card stipulations but.............I don't have that time. Like most of us I am living my life and devote my time where I can.
Pay cash...............owe......... no one.
Borrow money, (credit card purchase)...................pay for it.
Cash back sounds great but..........................the companies that offer it.........make money on it.......................yours.
My point.
my opinion
rbtvgo
 
rbtvgo said:
I find all the comments interesting and realistic. As I said I have utilized all the options as I raised my family and made my way thru life. What I was trying to say is if you borrow money then you pay for it. A 25.00 shirt on credit will cost you more then 25.00 when you pay it off unless you paid cash.
I dispute the statement that 50% of people pay off their credit cards every month. Visa isn't rich because they don't collect interest on debt owed.
As to understanding all the programs, details, inclusions, exclusions. I have not got the time to devote my energy to determine which company, program or deal is going to save me a buck 35. If I had the time great! I don't. What I do know is that if you pay cash....you don't owe another penny to anyone. That is my point.
I could count coupons and only buy what was on sale. I could research and determine what was the best deal based on my credit card stipulations but.............I don't have that time. Like most of us I am living my life and devote my time where I can.
Pay cash...............owe......... no one.
Borrow money, (credit card purchase)...................pay for it.
Cash back sounds great but..........................the companies that offer it.........make money on it.......................yours.
My point.
my opinion
rbtvgo
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you can dispute the balances carried but you would be wrong .

only about half of all credit card accounts carry a balance ..actually 46% .

”Multiple polls show American consumers sinking deeper into credit-card debt. A new survey from Bankrate, the consumer finance company, found 46 percent of cardholders carrying credit-card balances from month to month, up from 39 percent a year ago. “


https://thehill.com/business/382179...-face-potentially-crippling-credit-card-debt/
 
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mathjak107 said:
our credit card points are just that , a rebate on what we spent .

hence the terms cash back. unlike old montana calling it like welfare
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mathjak107 said:
so who here is of the opinion getting your own money back as a rebate with rewards is like welfare ?

welfare is others grtting a benefit you didn’t pay for , a rebate is you keeping more of the money you earned by them handing you back some of what you spent .

let’s see what others think
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"so who here is of the opinion getting your own money back as a rebate with rewards is like welfare ?"

My point is/was that many of the government programs are not welfare programs
rbtvgo said:
I find all the comments interesting and realistic. As I said I have utilized all the options as I raised my family and made my way thru life. What I was trying to say is if you borrow money then you pay for it. A 25.00 shirt on credit will cost you more then 25.00 when you pay it off unless you paid cash.
I dispute the statement that 50% of people pay off their credit cards every month. Visa isn't rich because they don't collect interest on debt owed.
As to understanding all the programs, details, inclusions, exclusions. I have not got the time to devote my energy to determine which company, program or deal is going to save me a buck 35. If I had the time great! I don't. What I do know is that if you pay cash....you don't owe another penny to anyone. That is my point.
I could count coupons and only buy what was on sale. I could research and determine what was the best deal based on my credit card stipulations but.............I don't have that time. Like most of us I am living my life and devote my time where I can.
Pay cash...............owe......... no one.
Borrow money, (credit card purchase)...................pay for it.
Cash back sounds great but..........................the companies that offer it.........make money on it.......................yours.
My point.
my opinion
rbtvgo
Click to expand...
Credit card companies make money on interest people pay on their balances. Also, anyone taking credit cards are charged a percent of each transaction to the credit card companies. As a x small business owner, I know.
 
rbtvgo said:
I find all the comments interesting and realistic. As I said I have utilized all the options as I raised my family and made my way thru life. What I was trying to say is if you borrow money then you pay for it. A 25.00 shirt on credit will cost you more then 25.00 when you pay it off unless you paid cash.
I dispute the statement that 50% of people pay off their credit cards every month. Visa isn't rich because they don't collect interest on debt owed.
As to understanding all the programs, details, inclusions, exclusions. I have not got the time to devote my energy to determine which company, program or deal is going to save me a buck 35. If I had the time great! I don't. What I do know is that if you pay cash....you don't owe another penny to anyone. That is my point.
I could count coupons and only buy what was on sale. I could research and determine what was the best deal based on my credit card stipulations but.............I don't have that time. Like most of us I am living my life and devote my time where I can.
Pay cash...............owe......... no one.
Borrow money, (credit card purchase)...................pay for it.
Cash back sounds great but..........................the companies that offer it.........make money on it.......................yours.
My point.
my opinion
rbtvgo
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If you want to miss out on rewards, that's your business. Those of us who pay our balances in full each month do not pay an extra penny on that hypothetical $25 purchase. The credit card interest rates are so ridiculously high that it's not hard to believe people who don't pay their balances in full each month are the ones who keep the banks afloat.

I come from a family who paid cash for mostly everything. My uncle shocked a car dealer when he paid cash for his new car decades ago and a salesman when he paid cash for a color T.V. The only credit card any close family member had was my mother who opened up revolving credit at a dress store owned by her former employer. I think the most that could be charged was $75. She got a card for me and using it wisely got me my first major credit card (not applied for) at age 23. I've used credit wisely ever since.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
If you want to miss out on rewards, that's your business. Those of us who pay our balances in full each month do not pay an extra penny on that hypothetical $25 purchase. The credit card interest rates are so ridiculously high that it's not hard to believe people who don't pay their balances in full each month are the ones who keep the banks afloat.

I come from a family who paid cash for mostly everything. My uncle shocked a car dealer when he paid cash for his new car decades ago and a salesman when he paid cash for a color T.V. The only credit card any close family member had was my mother who opened up revolving credit at a dress store owned by her former employer. I think the most that could be charged was $75. She got a card for me and using it wisely got me my first major credit card (not applied for) at age 23. I've used credit wisely ever since.
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actually you do pay more as the vendor credit card fees are reflected in the prices charged .

when one does not take advantage of the rebates available through the cash back programs in effect they are paying more
 
mathjak107 said:
actually you do pay more as the vendor credit card fees are reflected in the prices charged .

when one does not take advantage of the rebates available through the cash back programs in effect they are paying more
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Yes but if the charge is $25 and that is what is paid to the merchant, the vendor fees are reflected in that price already. My point is we're not paying the extra 20% on top of that by not paying in full.
 

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