(Offline)
We've seen a lot of gibberish lately about how debit card issuers and merchants may/may not have an increase in fees from about 44 cents to about 12 cents per transaction. Since I seldom use my debit card, I really have not cared much about about whose ox will get gored on this one. Credit cards seem to be taking to the sidelines, as I see it.
This article seems to agree with what I thought was one of the fall outs of this scheme, that credit cards seem to be an even better option if you pay off the balance every month.
Quote:
The big winners among consumers will be users of credit card reward programs. For consumers who pay off their monthly balances and pay no interest, credit card reward programs will remain the best deal around, Papadimitriou said. Merchants will continue to pay higher interchange fees for credit cards, he explained.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/ne....z1PeMl5yXY
_________________
(Offline)
I think it's only a matter of time until the banks start to cut their rewards programs back now what with them taking a hit on the debit card fees. It's about the only thing left they do for the customer that's a plus and they will be looking to trim things across the board.
That wouldn't surprise me either. Banks don't make much money out of people that clear their balances every month. It's all that interest that's accumulated by those carrying a big balance that's the real earner for them. In fact, I could see them taking rewards programs away from people who don't carry a balance as a way to offset the cost of running them.
(Offline)
Remember the good old days when banks didn't charge you for anything? I could be wrong but I'm sure when I got my first bank account thirty years ago there was no such thing as transaction fees or if there was they were so minimal I never noticed them on my account statement.
(Offline)
Remember the good old days when banks didn't charge you for anything? I could be wrong but I'm sure when I got my first bank account thirty years ago there was no such thing as transaction fees or if there was they were so minimal I never noticed them on my account statement.
They definitely didn't charge you for deposits, that's for sure! I went to the counter and paid in my wages check every week and it didn't cost me a penny.
(Offline)
Blackout dates and other obstacles haven't stopped Pete D'Arruda from squeezing all the benefits he can out of his credit card rewards programs.
D'Arruda, who was recently profiled by MarketWatch, revealed that he has 25 credit cards with a combined credit limit of $300,000. That includes a fistful of Visas and MasterCards, along with gas, airline and individual store cards.
Why so many cards? It started out as an experiment to see how many cards he could acquire – as well as how his credit rating might be impacted by having so many cards. Contrary to what you might expect, D'Arruda says it's been great for his credit -- his FICO credit scores are in the 810 to 815 point range. (Read this list of five surprising things that can hurt your credit scores).
But now D'Arruda, who pays off his credit card balances each month, uses all that plastic as a way to score freebies. He says he only gets credit cards that offer juicy miles, points, cash-back rewards and other perks.
I think it's only a matter of time until the banks start to cut their rewards programs back now what with them taking a hit on the debit card fees. It's about the only thing left they do for the customer that's a plus and they will be looking to trim things across the board.