Credit card rewards/cash back programs

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Son_of_Perdition

Senior Member
I subscribed to a savings forum a while back. I made the mistake of posting a negative review about credit card rewards/cash back being a financial danger to seniors. I never realized that it was such a sacred cow with some people. I only wanted to point out how many offers the seniors I know get in their mail daily. I pointed out it was almost like predatory lending making such offers to a fixed income recipient. I pointed out the bookkeeping involved to keep on top of the programs and the mine field for some seniors who have trouble just keeping track of their prescriptions. I was lamblasted with critical reponses and chastised for even suggesting that there was anything wrong with the practice. I retaliated that if you are reduced to gaining supplemental income from spending more on items than you can use just to get your 5% back then you are in bigger trouble and you may want to rethink your budget. For some reason I had my account cancelled even after I had a few positive replys.

I agree that the rewards can be helpful, I just don't think that I want to tackle the extra paperwork and task of monitoring my accounts that religiously. Any thoughts? I personally have only 2 debit cards and pay everything in cash and have set aside enough time to track my expenses and income. I can't see how gaining a few extra dollars monthly would be beneficial to ME! Also I know that my control of plastic is suspect at best and I tend to spend more when there's no upper limit on my purchases, I'm too much of an impluse buyer and have decluttered my life of unnecessary stuff.
 

Son, I'm an exaccountant and I totally agree with you. We have one debit card for emergencies, the rest is in cash, especially after recently having our bank account hacked.
I've noticed that a lot of people, my grandchildren included, live off their credit cards. But I just don't seem to be able to get them to see the folly of that. :tapfoot:
 
I'm a CPA and utilize several cash back credit cards. I've never paid a penny of interest. I agree that they could be a danger to someone who has impulse control issues.

I get 6% cash back on groceries from my American Express Card and 5% cash back on my Chase gas card. I also have an Amazon card that gives 3% back on all purchases. All three cards gave me a cash-back bonus of anywhere from $100 to $150 and one of them gave me a year of Amazon Prime free.

I do think that credit card companies try to exploit people. They target college students knowing that they will probably end up paying excessive interest.

Just my two cents.
 

I have one credit card. I use it to buy almost everything. I carry very little cash anymore. I pay my credit card off each month and get Quickpoints.
 
I have a cashback credit card which I use as often as I can and always pay the balance off in full, I got ÂŁ150 back at the end of the year, not bad considering I didn't make any expensive transactions, just day to day stuff but it all mounts up over a period of time
 
My post is about seniors I'm asociated with and what I've observed. I also pay all my accounts in full each month but have no desire to leave something hanging when I pass and leave it to my wife to sort out.

I have rented 2 cars in my 55 years of driving. I use my motor home to travel (1 or 2 trips a year) have back trouble so staying/sleeping at a hotel is a crap shoot. Our total discretionary expenses are just $1000 or less monthly, space rent must be paid by check/auto WD, no credit/debit cards. All utilities ($200) including $38 wireless bill can be paid by CC/debit. Auto payment is cash/check/online at bank. Recap $1200+ a month with a 5% cash back is possibily $60. If I spend 20% more, like 57% of card users then I've lost my advantage and now have more 'stuff' to store, sell, donate or junk. Again losing my advantage. Gas is minimal (5% X 40 = $2) per month although that's going up.

I save by asking for cash discount which some stores give (not the big box) but restuarants, mom and pop stores will give discount if they want the sale. I have limited exposure to shopping online although I do it once in awhile. I had my wallet stolen years ago and now never carry my debit card, SS or Medicare cards. My pouch, I carry around my neck, contains my driver's lis, Costco and Health Ins card and less than $20. If I need to carry more I then take my debit cards in the pouch and only use them at a member CU's ATM. If I was a businessman or frequent world traveller then things would probably be different. My entertainment consists of a monthly trip to the casino, Monday's game night at the club house, Wednesday's cribbage games and Friday's Pinochle.
 
I have the 3% back card from Amazon, a 2% back American Express Fidelity card and American Airlines Mastercard for Miles that paid for a rental car for a week on a trip last month. Like others, I never pay interest, each card is paid off each month.

Kim, the American Express 6% back card, can you buy groceries anywhere with it? I would be very interested in getting that one.

I see nothing wrong with these cash back cards, to me, this is money in your pockets, a bonus, if they are used wisely, on money that you are going to spend regardlessly. I even set up auto pay on all my monthly utilities and bills using these cash back cards, although the water company would not take a CC, so that one is paid with my checking account.
 
I used Discover for a long time for cash back, recently got a Quicksilver Visa, even better. We always get no annual fee credit cards, and always pay the full amount in one payment. If we can't afford to do that, we can't afford to buy the item, IMO. No debit cards here, think they're a lot less secure than the credit. I do use checks though, for most everyday purchases like groceries, paying bills by mail, etc.
 
Kudos to all of you who pay your balances off and take full advantage of the perks that these cards give you. I live in a senior park with 185 paid spaces and can only guess that based on my observation that 50% of the residents are not mentally able to handle the resposibilities of monitoring credit card programs. A large number have no tech skills and can't even handle a simple flip phone. Mail is their life link and carry several card offers to their home daily. I worked tech support and have had several stop by for me to show them how to set up their voice mails and add new numbers. A resident's husband died and she had no clue where they banked at, I called her son to come and go through her mail to get a paper trail started. One refuses to add numbers to his phone and carries a slip of paper in his wallet with numbers on them. One had me restore her computer and make easy icons for email and browser access to the library. I have at least 5 calls a week, almost made me wish I didn't tell them what I did before retirement. They're the ones I worry about.

I personally opted-out with the credit bureaus to stop selling my name to credit card companies but my wife gets 3+ a week. There are several who refuse to get either a cell or talk about maybe getting a computer. Show them skype and they hypeventilate. I search for information to check on any side effects or interaction with their prescriptions. I tell them I'm not a doctor so please, please talk to their provider if they are having issues. They scare the crap out me when they drive and attempt to get out of the park onto a rather busy highway. I give several rides to their banks and doctors appointments. For the other 50% I have no issue with them getting and using those cards. I just choose to avoid the extra stress.
 
I'm a bit of a technophobe myself, as I've had no geeks around to show me the ropes on anything. I got my first computer in 2000, and have had nothing but a desktop since. I still hesitate to do too much on the computer, because I don't want to have to get any outside assistance with it. I only have a pre-paid Tracfone, no camera or internet capabilities...just something for emergencies, or to call my husband if needed.

We pay most of our bills by mail with checks, and that has worked fine so far, and I'm comfortable doing it. We have an excellent credit rating, and I often get offers for credit card apps in the mail, and they end up in the trash or shredder. We keep our papers organized in file cabinets, so we both know where our accounts are, and the current amounts in them. It's nice that you help these folks out Son of Perdition, some in our generation are really overwhelmed with the changes happening in this day and age. You're a good egg! :thumbsup:
 
I have two credit cards and a debit card. The Discover card gives cash back, which every now and then I'll call and have the deduct the amount from my bill. I crry this card with me.

The Chase Visa I only use for online or phone purchases. It has a RF chip so I don't carry it out of the house.

I pay them both off every month.

The debit card I only use to get cash at the bank.
 
We also use the Chase Visa for most purchases and get a 5% return on some items and a 1% return on rest. This adds up quite fast and is nice to spend as you wish.
We only have one payment-which is our car, and that is getting closer to being gone. Last time we checked our credit rating, it was 810.
 
Got a good laugh this morning, the saving advice site I was a member of and still monitor but not post, had this one member who was into everything. Stocks (high yield), credit card rewards/cash back (he claimed to have 27-28 cards making him money, I am against them for seniors), hiking, wandering around Civil War sites, playing PC games, watching documentaries on TV, caring for his small farm. I called BS on his posts pointing out there wasn't enough time in his day to pursue his interests. He found he was having trouble spending his $5,000 discretionary fund on stuff (I suggested he donate it to charity or a soup kitchen - tax deductible), his wife was complaining about his hoarding (the downside of credit card spending for rewards). And topping it off he was in his late 60's. Today he posted about his revelation of the pursuit of money and how much it took of his leisure time that he had worked all his life to enjoy. He decided that enough was enough.
 
I have one Visa credit card with a $20,000 limit and have never paid any interest because the card is paid off each month. I pay no annual fee and get cash back credits for certain purchases. It sure beats carrying cash around. In addition I have a Visa Debit Card through my Charles Schwab checking account. If you travel abroad at all it's best to have a credit card that does not have foreign transaction fees, and if you have a debit card it's best to have one that reimburses you the charge for using any ATM machine. You know, that 2 to three and sometimes more charge for using a bank other than your own.
 
I still stand by my belief that while credit cards can be useful, people like me that can't handle credit very well need to eliminate the possibility that we could ever get to the point financially that I was facing in 2009. You can keep your rewards and unused miles if you want just don't push them on me or hold me in contempt because I choose not to participate, please let me de-clutter my finances and life and enjoy the lack of unnecessary purchases of more 'stuff'. The old joke goes that, 'A wife comes home from shopping ladened with sacks and boxes stating to her husband, I saved us a lot of money because everything I bought was on sale!'.
 
Banks make more money from charging fees than from any other source. This has been reported time and time again on CNBC. I have several credit cards and they all have some return on them, either money back or hotel points. U.S. Air has a deal out now that for accepting their card and paying $89.00 they will give you enough miles for two free round-trip tickets, plus a free companion ticket for two people at $99.00 each, free checked bag (1 each traveler) and other incentives. If someone wanted to take a cheap vacation to a destination that they have never been, this would be a good deal. After you receive the certificates for the freebies, you can cancel the account.

The bank knows more than half of those people than sign on for this deal will cancel their account after they receive their freebies, but the remaining members will pay enough to offset any losses by the freebie users. Cards that give mileage are generally a poor deal. One has to charge thousands and thousand of dollars to get a free ticket. All of my bills are set up on my bank's internet "Auto Bill Pay". All but two of my bills a month go directly to my bank for electronic payment. My TruGreen and my tax bills come directly to my house for payment. Auto Pay is great. I verify the amounts paid and that is all there is to it. I have used it for 11 years and never an issue.
 
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S-O-P, so thankful I can still read and understand directions. I even bought a computer dictionary back in the earlier days. Also, I buy a lot of stuff from Best Buy so I use the Geeks. I had an older neighbor who had a lot of tech problems, but her hearing was so bad, I had trouble working and teaching her how. You are a good person. Continue being careful about treading in areas that they should have pro help.
 

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