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With a credit card you buy now with the promise to pay later. There are some restrictions for fraud & out of town transactions.
For Dave Ransey followers the temptation in credit cards is you may not have the money to pay the bill. Start with late fees, high interest rates. Studies have shown people spend more with their credit card than if they had to pay with cash. The store may do 40% more business. The banks make millions on fees & interest rates. The credit card companies get paid to process the transaction. With these fees in a reward program you may get back 1% to 5% depending on the card agreement.
I couldn't care less about someone's lack of financial discipline and inability to control spending. That person might blow their paycheck at the bar right after they cash it then not have the money when the rent comes due. This is a people problem not a credit card problem.
The ability to spend money now that you may not have it both the risk and the reward of credit. Sometimes it's not a matter of how much money you have but when you have it. If your car breaks down and you need it to get to work, you need it fixed now, whether you have the cash or not. If you lose your job your problems have ballooned much more than interest and late fees. Even for non-critical items, the ability to buy when things are on sale can save money.
I love the club lounges. In addition to the drinks and snacks, much more comfortable to browse the internet on my laptop at a proper table than at a crowded gate area. It saved my bacon once when they announced my flight was canceled. I walked up to the empty customer service counter and was rebooked on the next flight in minutes. I heard from others later that were on my flight that they waited for two hours in the public customer service line and some were unable to get rebooked on the next flight because it was full.
I do think a lot of airport lounges are dealing with a tragedy of the commons right now- the overcrowding is crazy, even with capacity controls that can have people waiting in line outside the doors. I ended up with free lounge access on a trip this summer (transatlantic ticket and Sky Team Elite+ status) and the Delta lounges in ATL were noisy and it was hard to find a place to sit. The food was getting swooped up as soon as it was put out and there was an additional line at the bar. The bathrooms were definitely nicer than you get in the gen pop part of the terminal but I found myself thinking that I was glad I wasn’t directly paying for an experience that just wasn’t relaxing.
I do think a lot of airport lounges are dealing with a tragedy of the commons right now- the overcrowding is crazy, even with capacity controls that can have people waiting in line outside the doors. I ended up with free lounge access on a trip this summer (transatlantic ticket and Sky Team Elite+ status) and the Delta lounges in ATL were noisy and it was hard to find a place to sit. The food was getting swooped up as soon as it was put out and there was an additional line at the bar. The bathrooms were definitely nicer than you get in the gen pop part of the terminal but I found myself thinking that I was glad I wasn’t directly paying for an experience that just wasn’t relaxing.
Agreed. Everyone wants in and I'd bet the vast majority of those in the lounge are using passes not paid members. I wouldn't pay for it.
Not sure your friend is being 100% straight up with you. The bonuses from AMEX are based on your spending. So maybe her CEO husband is pounding on the card for work expenses then letting her have the "points" that she claims her rewards with.
Yes, that is the case... I mentioned this later in the thread, once I really thought about it! He charges his business expenses + travel to the card, and she gets to reap the rewards.
(she wasn't being intentionally misleading, I'm sure; she just lives a very different lifestyle than I do)
The mortgage company simply won’t let you and the workaround for that is a cash advance on the card that generates horrible interest from the first day and is probably excluded from point earning.
For rent, some large property management companies have an agreement to let you use the Bilt Mastercard to pay rent but that’s a pretty niche product-
Huh... interesting. This is my first mortgage (which I've only had for 8 months now), so I had no idea. That would've been an easy way to rack up the points, though, considering my mortgage + tax/insurance is around $3100/mo! Oh well.
Huh... interesting. This is my first mortgage (which I've only had for 8 months now), so I had no idea. That would've been an easy way to rack up the points, though, considering my mortgage + tax/insurance is around $3100/mo! Oh well.
These days with EFT this becomes moot. Bank where you pay may be only setup to do bank account info with no option for CC/DC. They may have you submit void check or have other procedure to verify numbers. Many insurance companies are setup this way.
These days with EFT this becomes moot. Bank where you pay may be only setup to do bank account info with no option for CC/DC. They may have you submit void check or have other procedure to verify numbers. Many insurance companies are setup this way.
I have it set on auto-pay through their website, and pretty sure I just entered my debit card info when I initially set it up - but I’m not 100% sure. Guess I’ll go see for myself if it can be changed to a credit card!
Update: Nope, you (and the other poster) were correct. When I tried changing the payment method, it asked for checking account and routing #s. No option for debit or credit card. Darnit!
I have it set on auto-pay through their website, and pretty sure I just entered my debit card info when I initially set it up - but I’m not 100% sure. Guess I’ll go see for myself if it can be changed to a credit card!
Update: Nope, you (and the other poster) were correct. When I tried changing the payment method, it asked for checking account and routing #s. No option for debit or credit card. Darnit!
They want immediate cash payment that can't be disputed and clawed back.
I'm not sure if he's stupid or if he assumes everyone else is stupid. His advice is good for people who have no common sense in how to manage money.
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