4 ms·

If you're doing it right then your credit card account should be earning you the approximate equivalent of 1% cash back via rewards points or another mechanism.

by tdfx 15y ago

If you're doing it right then your credit card account should be earning you the approximate equivalent of 1% cash back via rewards points or another mechanism. For my personal card I use Chase Sapphire (the one without the yearly fee), which gives 2x points for all dining purchases. Always confuses me when I see people using cash or debit cards. At my current rate of spending I could get a free iPad and a few other goodies every year by doing nothing more than not bothering to carry cash. In fact, merchants have to increase their prices slightly to account for the transaction fees, so anyone using cash is actually (in a small way) paying for my rewards.

UrbanPat 15y ago
Yes, that's the whole problem. I'm tired of paying for other people's airline miles, cashback, etc. This is an inefficiency built into the payment system, and it harms small businesses and lower-income people the most. I try to avoid using my credit card out of principle, because I don't like charging merchants more. I appreciate that Dwolla is trying to remove this inefficiency from the system. Mass conversion to a more efficient system would, eventually, mean cheaper prices for everyone.
BrandonM 15y ago
It always confuses me when I don't see people take pennies out of the change tray at gas stations; it's free money, just sitting there. It confuses me when people pay to ride the bus when they're so unlikely to get caught not paying. It confuses me that people don't just file for bankruptcy and forget all their credit card debt. If you're still confused, people have their own pride and principles. Something being legal or otherwise doable does not mean that everyone considers it moral. To me, it feels wrong to leverage a slimy Visa policy to bilk airfare from merchants who have to accept credit to compete and from customers who don't opt-in to the game.
- tdfx 15y ago
  As it turns out, when I'm not stealing pennies from the penny trays at gas stations, I often shop at businesses that only accept cash and have no issue with it. If a business accepts credit cards, however, I'd rather have that small part of the fee come back to me than stay in Visa's pocket.

by tdfx 15y ago

UrbanPat 15y ago

Yes, that's the whole problem. I'm tired of paying for other people's airline miles, cashback, etc. This is an inefficiency built into the payment system, and it harms small businesses and lower-income people the most. I try to avoid using my credit card out of principle, because I don't like charging merchants more. I appreciate that Dwolla is trying to remove this inefficiency from the system. Mass conversion to a more efficient system would, eventually, mean cheaper prices for everyone.

BrandonM 15y ago

It always confuses me when I don't see people take pennies out of the change tray at gas stations; it's free money, just sitting there. It confuses me when people pay to ride the bus when they're so unlikely to get caught not paying. It confuses me that people don't just file for bankruptcy and forget all their credit card debt. If you're still confused, people have their own pride and principles. Something being legal or otherwise doable does not mean that everyone considers it moral. To me, it feels wrong to leverage a slimy Visa policy to bilk airfare from merchants who have to accept credit to compete and from customers who don't opt-in to the game.

tdfx 15y ago
As it turns out, when I'm not stealing pennies from the penny trays at gas stations, I often shop at businesses that only accept cash and have no issue with it. If a business accepts credit cards, however, I'd rather have that small part of the fee come back to me than stay in Visa's pocket.