4 ms·

If you're in the US this sounds like a normal card. If you're in a lot of other places you won't have heard of it because it's not available and it sounds amazi

If you're in the US this sounds like a normal card. If you're in a lot of other places you won't have heard of it because it's not available and it sounds amazing because it wouldn't make any money in more regulated countries.

noduerme 10mo ago
you mean it wouldn't make any money for the bank issuing the card? Is that because they can't charge merchants as much to accept it other countries?
- StopDisinfo910 10mo ago
  Yes, fees are capped in the EU for exemple. Considering the impact on prices, cashback is basically reverse redistribution. It makes the situation worse for the poorest customers to give money to the banks and their richest customers.
  - ifwinterco 10mo ago
    Yep if you use a card in the US the company just takes 2c from your left pocket and puts it in your right pocket in a form that's more difficult to use. And if you don't use a card, the business takes 2c from your left pocket and keeps it. It's a great trick though, people really buy into the whole points/cashback thing and don't realise they're being paid with their own money
    - lotsofpulp 10mo ago
      It’s not being paid with my own money. If I can get 2% cash back, then the situation is I either pay 98% of $x, or $x. Nowadays though, many sellers are offering at least 3% or higher discounts for not using credit card. My mobile network provider, home ISP, daycare and kids activities, insurance, taxes, healthcare, tradespeople, and even Target offers a 5% discount if you do not use a credit card. It’s basically only travel, restaurants, and non Target retail that earns credit card rewards. Although sign up bonuses make it worth paying the additional credit card fees sometimes.
      - veidr 10mo ago
        Well if you can get $100 worth of X on credit card for $98, but you can buy the same thing with cash for $97, aren't you actually paying 150% of the "cash back" with your own money? ¯\\_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯
        46493168 10mo ago
        > but you can buy the same thing with cash for $97 Merchants rarely offer cash discounts in the US.
        cj 10mo ago
        Except nearly every restaurant I frequent. Example menu below with cash and credit prices, credit prices being 4% more. I see this commonly. https://misslucyskitchen.com/menu https://misslucyskitchen.com/menu
        lxgr 10mo ago
        Even as somebody really disliking the current interchange fees in the US, 4% is a money grab on the merchant's side that I find hard to empathize with. Even if the merchant pays the sticker price for card acceptance, it's usually just below 3%, unless international cards are involved. Add to that the fact that cash transactions in restaurants are often accounted for in "more tax efficient ways", and it feels even more icky.
      - ifwinterco 10mo ago
        My point is if credit cards didn't exist, the $1 thing would cost 98c, so in that sense it's your money. Admittedly that is overstating it a bit because not everyone uses a rewards card. In reality the 2% cashback is 1% your own money being given back to you and 1% money from people paying in cash being transferred to you (normally regressively as someone else pointed out). If you get a discount for paying cash, then it really is just your own money
        10mo ago
    - lxgr 10mo ago
      It's usually more than 3 cents out of your left pocket and 1.5-2 into your right one, even if you do everything right and never incur interest charges or fees. > It's a great trick though, people really buy into the whole points/cashback thing and don't realise they're being paid with their own money Even better, they become poorly-paid lobbyists for the entire scheme, since it successfully makes them feel like they're getting "luxury" items/services for free by "gaming the banks", when they're really just participating in a loyalty scheme exactly as designed. Sure, it's possible to eke out a net cash profit here and there, but all in all, it's just a great counterexample to homo economicus.
__alexs 10mo ago
This is not even a particularly competitive cashback card in the UK. But perhaps you don't consider that a "more regulated country."
- agsnu 10mo ago
  Huh? Cashback cards on VISA/Mastercard have all but disappeared, I think Lloyds still do one but it has a promo of 1% for the first year then drops to 0.25% after. American Express will give you 0.75% on first 10k spend then 1.25%. 2% is unheard of (unless it's promo or heavily capped).
- wolvoleo 10mo ago
  The UK is very similar to the US, very neoliberal. They have a little more consumer protection but not a lot. Here in Spain cards don't tend to provide any cashback, also they hurt your credit rating (in contrast with the US where they improve it and people end up shuffling cards). They're pretty unpopular here, most people just use debit cards. I prefer it too, if I don't need credit to buy something I don't want to use it. I currently don't have any loan or credit active which is the best situation in case I'd want to get a mortgage. We do have some cards like revolut which provide some benefits but you have to pay a monthly sub. It's more promotional stuff like 'free' Uber one, perplexity, tinder etc. I don't find those terribly useful except for perplexity but they give that away free with a lot of things. Uber one in particular really sucks because it's way more expensive than local alternatives (cabify for rides, glovo for meals) even with the discount.
  - devilbunny 10mo ago
    Credit cards are, oddly enough, one place in which the US has absolutely amazing consumer protection laws. Debit cards do not share these protections by law (though many banks offer some of them). So, if you move to the US, getting a credit card, even if you never intend to carry a balance, is a wise idea. - You cannot be held responsible for more than $50 of fraudulent charges - You are not required to report a card missing within a short period of time to claim that charges are fraudulent - Because your bank account is not directly linked to the credit card, fraudulent charges occur with the credit bank's money, not yours, so you do not have to fight to have them declared fraudulent before you can use money in your account

noduerme 10mo ago

you mean it wouldn't make any money for the bank issuing the card? Is that because they can't charge merchants as much to accept it other countries?

StopDisinfo910 10mo ago
Yes, fees are capped in the EU for exemple. Considering the impact on prices, cashback is basically reverse redistribution. It makes the situation worse for the poorest customers to give money to the banks and their richest customers.
- ifwinterco 10mo ago
  Yep if you use a card in the US the company just takes 2c from your left pocket and puts it in your right pocket in a form that's more difficult to use. And if you don't use a card, the business takes 2c from your left pocket and keeps it. It's a great trick though, people really buy into the whole points/cashback thing and don't realise they're being paid with their own money
  - lotsofpulp 10mo ago
    It’s not being paid with my own money. If I can get 2% cash back, then the situation is I either pay 98% of $x, or $x. Nowadays though, many sellers are offering at least 3% or higher discounts for not using credit card. My mobile network provider, home ISP, daycare and kids activities, insurance, taxes, healthcare, tradespeople, and even Target offers a 5% discount if you do not use a credit card. It’s basically only travel, restaurants, and non Target retail that earns credit card rewards. Although sign up bonuses make it worth paying the additional credit card fees sometimes.
    - veidr 10mo ago
      Well if you can get $100 worth of X on credit card for $98, but you can buy the same thing with cash for $97, aren't you actually paying 150% of the "cash back" with your own money? ¯\\_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯
      - 46493168 10mo ago
        > but you can buy the same thing with cash for $97 Merchants rarely offer cash discounts in the US.
        cj 10mo ago
        Except nearly every restaurant I frequent. Example menu below with cash and credit prices, credit prices being 4% more. I see this commonly. https://misslucyskitchen.com/menu https://misslucyskitchen.com/menu
        lxgr 10mo ago
        Even as somebody really disliking the current interchange fees in the US, 4% is a money grab on the merchant's side that I find hard to empathize with. Even if the merchant pays the sticker price for card acceptance, it's usually just below 3%, unless international cards are involved. Add to that the fact that cash transactions in restaurants are often accounted for in "more tax efficient ways", and it feels even more icky.
    - ifwinterco 10mo ago
      My point is if credit cards didn't exist, the $1 thing would cost 98c, so in that sense it's your money. Admittedly that is overstating it a bit because not everyone uses a rewards card. In reality the 2% cashback is 1% your own money being given back to you and 1% money from people paying in cash being transferred to you (normally regressively as someone else pointed out). If you get a discount for paying cash, then it really is just your own money
      - 10mo ago
  - lxgr 10mo ago
    It's usually more than 3 cents out of your left pocket and 1.5-2 into your right one, even if you do everything right and never incur interest charges or fees. > It's a great trick though, people really buy into the whole points/cashback thing and don't realise they're being paid with their own money Even better, they become poorly-paid lobbyists for the entire scheme, since it successfully makes them feel like they're getting "luxury" items/services for free by "gaming the banks", when they're really just participating in a loyalty scheme exactly as designed. Sure, it's possible to eke out a net cash profit here and there, but all in all, it's just a great counterexample to homo economicus.

__alexs 10mo ago

This is not even a particularly competitive cashback card in the UK. But perhaps you don't consider that a "more regulated country."

agsnu 10mo ago
Huh? Cashback cards on VISA/Mastercard have all but disappeared, I think Lloyds still do one but it has a promo of 1% for the first year then drops to 0.25% after. American Express will give you 0.75% on first 10k spend then 1.25%. 2% is unheard of (unless it's promo or heavily capped).
wolvoleo 10mo ago
The UK is very similar to the US, very neoliberal. They have a little more consumer protection but not a lot. Here in Spain cards don't tend to provide any cashback, also they hurt your credit rating (in contrast with the US where they improve it and people end up shuffling cards). They're pretty unpopular here, most people just use debit cards. I prefer it too, if I don't need credit to buy something I don't want to use it. I currently don't have any loan or credit active which is the best situation in case I'd want to get a mortgage. We do have some cards like revolut which provide some benefits but you have to pay a monthly sub. It's more promotional stuff like 'free' Uber one, perplexity, tinder etc. I don't find those terribly useful except for perplexity but they give that away free with a lot of things. Uber one in particular really sucks because it's way more expensive than local alternatives (cabify for rides, glovo for meals) even with the discount.
- devilbunny 10mo ago
  Credit cards are, oddly enough, one place in which the US has absolutely amazing consumer protection laws. Debit cards do not share these protections by law (though many banks offer some of them). So, if you move to the US, getting a credit card, even if you never intend to carry a balance, is a wise idea. - You cannot be held responsible for more than $50 of fraudulent charges - You are not required to report a card missing within a short period of time to claim that charges are fraudulent - Because your bank account is not directly linked to the credit card, fraudulent charges occur with the credit bank's money, not yours, so you do not have to fight to have them declared fraudulent before you can use money in your account