Credit Card Competition Act..Goodbye Credit Card points

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

^^ I've only seen it pushed by what seems like the same website/pundit/fear monger. First hit the web several months back and has all but been refuted every time.

 

[Thump553]

To me credit card points/rebates are a golden fleece that I have used for years (probably decades). There is very little reason for the great majority of Americans to carry any balance on their credit cards but most do. It seems like we normalize and celebrate living beyond our personal financial means as a general rule-regardless of political bent. I never cease to be amazed at the basic financial understanding that the vast amount of American consumers have, even those who expert serious sophistication and understanding in their work fields. There is very little reason for the great majority of Americans to carry any balance on their credit cards but most do. A simple rule of thumb-have at least two no-fee credit cards (if the monthly balance is paid in full each month). One of these cards should be your daily user card and should give cash back (or whatever other benefit best suits your situation, like maybe travel miles/perks). The other card should be held for emergencies and only used once in a while to keep it alive.

I'm going to miss "loophole" this when the big financial players win yet again. It's not without irony that this screwing of the little guy is disguised (yet again) as reform.

 

[darkswordsman17]

To me credit card points/rebates are a golden fleece that I have used for years (probably decades). There is very little reason for the great majority of Americans to carry any balance on their credit cards but most do. It seems like we normalize and celebrate living beyond our personal financial means as a general rule-regardless of political bent. I never cease to be amazed at the basic financial understanding that the vast amount of American consumers have, even those who expert serious sophistication and understanding in their work fields. There is very little reason for the great majority of Americans to carry any balance on their credit cards but most do. A simple rule of thumb-have at least two no-fee credit cards (if the monthly balance is paid in full each month). One of these cards should be your daily user card and should give cash back (or whatever other benefit best suits your situation, like maybe travel miles/perks). The other card should be held for emergencies and only used once in a while to keep it alive.

I'm going to miss "loophole" this when the big financial players win yet again. It's not without irony that this screwing of the little guy is disguised (yet again) as reform.

I get that you probably grew up with a silver spoon so far up your ass that you can't comprehend being poor, or how you get those no fee cards and points specifically because of the predatory lending behavior exploiting people that they know will struggle to pay balances, but just wow, that's some grade B affluenza you're espousing. (I genuinely don't care about whatever your story you'll no doubt use to justify your opinion "I had to earn every single cent I ever had, I started working at 6 years old and never got any money from family or ever got any help and I paid off all my loans early..."; don't care, because you're choosing to ignore the reality of why many people have debt - I know a lot that have credit card debt from paying off their health insurance premiums, or because they got laid off and had to make rent, and have not been able to catch up and get stuck in the loop of basically forever just paying off the interest).

They always win, and no amount of you (or others) being personally fiscally responsible will change that. We've seen this repeatedly. Financial markets can intentionally fuck things up for simple greed and face no repercussions, meanwhile they'll keep convincing people like you that well its average American's lack of personal fiscal responsibility that is to blame for things. The weird part is you bragging about taking advantage of those perks whilst ignoring you are able to because of the people you're calling stupid.

FYI, cash back is exactly the fucking same apparatus as points. It helps people like you that have the financials to pay off your cards, paid for by the people that don't/can't. Without those people you wouldn't be getting these perks. Likewise, the credit companies are exploiting you paying off your balances because you're making them solvent short term, limiting their risk and enabling them to play the long game with people that can't afford to pay off their balances regularly.

Now, I agree this probably won't accomplish much as they'll just jack up other fees or other nonsense, which is why we need comprehensive reform of the financial industry. Further, because of the rampant corruption, it makes people irrational and then they end up "investing" in crypto or other scams, because we keep infighting about personal fiscal responsibility instead of doing a goddamn thing about the rampant widespread corruption and lack of fiscal responsibility in finance markets.

 

[NWRMidnight]

The claim credit card rewards will severely be impacted by this possible law is not really factual. Credit card processing fees (fees that go directly to the card issuer) are from 1.5% (Visa/Mastercard) to 3.5% (American Express). Most Credit Card rewards are 1.5% to 5%, which means the majority of rewards are being covered by another stream of income. That stream of income is the High interest, compounded daily, on credit cards that the majority of credit card users pay, because they don't pay off their statement balance in full every month. Which are the very same people who live paycheck to paycheck (75% of the working population). decreasing the processing fees will have little impact on rewards, as credit card companies will just increase interest rates to compensate for any loss, as there are no laws capping interest rates on credit cards.

 

[Thump553]

I get that you probably grew up with a silver spoon so far up your ass that you can't comprehend being poor, or how you get those no fee cards and points specifically because of the predatory lending behavior exploiting people that they know will struggle to pay balances, but just wow, that's some grade B affluenza you're espousing. (I genuinely don't care about whatever your story you'll no doubt use to justify your opinion "I had to earn every single cent I ever had, I started working at 6 years old and never got any money from family or ever got any help and I paid off all my loans early..."; don't care, because you're choosing to ignore the reality of why many people have debt - I know a lot that have credit card debt from paying off their health insurance premiums, or because they got laid off and had to make rent, and have not been able to catch up and get stuck in the loop of basically forever just paying off the interest).

They always win, and no amount of you (or others) being personally fiscally responsible will change that. We've seen this repeatedly. Financial markets can intentionally fuck things up for simple greed and face no repercussions, meanwhile they'll keep convincing people like you that well its average American's lack of personal fiscal responsibility that is to blame for things. The weird part is you bragging about taking advantage of those perks whilst ignoring you are able to because of the people you're calling stupid.

FYI, cash back is exactly the fucking same apparatus as points. It helps people like you that have the financials to pay off your cards, paid for by the people that don't/can't. Without those people you wouldn't be getting these perks. Likewise, the credit companies are exploiting you paying off your balances because you're making them solvent short term, limiting their risk and enabling them to play the long game with people that can't afford to pay off their balances regularly.

Now, I agree this probably won't accomplish much as they'll just jack up other fees or other nonsense, which is why we need comprehensive reform of the financial industry. Further, because of the rampant corruption, it makes people irrational and then they end up "investing" in crypto or other scams, because we keep infighting about personal fiscal responsibility instead of doing a goddamn thing about the rampant widespread corruption and lack of fiscal responsibility in finance markets.

-paid my way through college upon my own earnings,
-paid my way through law school based on my own earnings and my wife's earnings as a teacher (13k a year)
-no silver spoon.
-for much of my career I was self-employed without a steady paycheck. Wife didn't work at a paying job after I graduated law school. My earnings as a lawyer were quite frankly on the lower end of the scale-I sucked at billing clients.
--my point is not that I some rich a*hole or that I know everything, my point is that the vast majority of people act incredibly stupidly re personal finances and living beyond your means seems to be the norm rather than the stupidity it is. The financial markets thrive in large part because of this stupidity.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

^^ Similar. I use CCs as tools. I don't let them use me.

I had a $1,300 bill come due this past month. Opened a new CC that gave me a $200 bonus on a $500 spend and gives me 15 months to pay off the now $1,100 balance.

This in an annual insurance bill and I did the same thing last year. My credit rating is such that I can generally open a new card on a whim, even though I have very little income.

It isn't about how much money you have, it's about how you manage it and how dependable they see you.


And this really isn't a P&N thread.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I feel ya, I had some loans come off my account and my score went down so I opened up a new card to raise it back up plus get some extra discounts on gas and purchases.

I generally pay my card balances in full each month and the rewards make doing so cheaper than paying cash. I make it through each year paying zero interest which is a great feeling.