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Life Craziness

Yesterday was one heck of a day. Girl Ninja and I were faced with having to make a HUGE life decision that we were not expecting. As a result of yesterday’s craziness, I sit here at 12:04am with little energy and no desire to blog. I know I’m being totally ambiguous and lame about details, so you’ll have to forgive me. I will definitely be writing about this dilemma soon (likely tomorrow) and will share the specifics then.

Since there is no new content, I’m going to copy an paste and old blog post of mine below. I’m assuming most of you weren’t reading me a year ago, so it will probably be new to you anyways.

I use my credit card for every purchase I make . I do this for two reasons 1) It consolidates all my expenses in to one big payment 2) I earn reward miles for every dollar I spend. Not too long ago I wrote about the perks of credit card incentives . Well a month later, I’m wondering if I am going to hell for taking advantage of these perks.

I’ve heard it argued that it is unethical to take advantage of CC perks. Why? Because the only reason the banks can offer these sweet deals is because they are charging the bajeezez out of those that are only making minimum payments. As one that ACTUALLY uses the perks of my mileage card, I feel obligated to lay my case for why using incentives is okay.

1. I have no internal debate as to whether or not I am hurting someone else by using these incentives. When I was in high school I cheated on a few tests (shhhh don’t tell anyone). When I was cheating I had an internal conflict that went something like “Ninja, you know this is wrong…Why are you doing this?” Obviously I told my conscience to shut it and cheated anyways. But at least in that situation I knew what I was doing was wrong. I have never felt like I was doing something bad by cashing in my airline miles.

2. There are two types of credit card owners out there. Those that pay their bills in full each month, and those that don’t. We both borrow money with an intention to pay it back. Why should I feel bad about being rewarded for being a responsible borrower and paying in full each month? The answer: I shouldn’t. As long as I follow through on my end of the deal, Why can’t I be rewarded?

3. At the end of the day, let’s be honest…it’s the credit card companies that are going to hell. They make a ton of money from sketchy lending, jacking up interest rates, and charging people five buttloads of money in late fees. Think about it like this. I’m actually screwing the banks by paying my balance in full each month. Every time I redeem my rewards, I end up costing them money. No sir, they get no interest charges or late fees from me.

So peeps what’s your call on this two-sided debate? Am I going to hell? I see arguments from both sides, but as of this moment don’t feel compelled to change my ways.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. Ooh..new job? Are you moving? Intruiging.

    I think even if everyone paid off their balances every month, credit cards would still make money from the merchants who pay like 1-2.5% per transaction.

    Since US consumer debt is %2.45 trillion bucks, even 1% is still a lot of coin.

  2. Credit card companies make a lot of money off of you Ninja, even though you don’t carry a balance or pay interest. Every time you use the card, the vendor pays the credit card company a % of your purchase price, as a fee to allow them to accept credit cards. Vendors are willing to pay the fee to get extra business, as some studies show people spend more if they use credit. Credit card companies are making more on these fees than they are losing on the miles they give you. Discover and AMEX have fees higher than Visa and Mastercard, which is why some vendors don’t take those cards.

    Hope your life changing decision is a great one!

  3. No hell on the Credit Cards, need to hear the details on the other matter before I can say for sure.

  4. Nope, I feel absolutely zero guilt. Credit card companies make a ton out of my card swipes and would charge the bejeezus out of the minimum payers anyway…why would they change if they didn’t have to? That would be bad for their profit margin.

    Nope, I cash in $300-$400 a year in rewards cash and gift cards and smile the whole way since I was going to have to buy gas and food anyway…

    I agree with Sandy L, I am intrigued about your life change. I would have guessed a baby but I’m assuming y’all weren’t living together before marriage for a reason, lol. That leaves medical problems, a family thing, or a job thing as my guesses. 🙂 Good luck with whatever it is and I hope you and yours are doing great!

  5. the card companies and the banks are all going to burn in the eternal fiery depths of hades. They shouldn’t even exist

  6. There is nothing wrong with rewards. Here are a few things to think about:
    1. The credit card companies make money every time you swipe.
    2. The merchants make more money by taking credit cards due to increased sales volume.
    3. The higher rates for minimum payment people are due to their increased risk of default.
    4. People who pay their balances every month can be good for cash flow.
    5. Related to #3. It is not like you are forcing minimum payment people to pay higher fees. They make that choice when they make minimum payments.

  7. 1. Yikes. Hope it’s a good life decision. I’m a big fan of your ninjatastic adventures (I’m getting married in October – your wedding posts are wicked helpful) and am rooting for you and Girl Ninja.

    2. Working for PerkStreet I of course hear a lot about credit rewards vs debit rewards (debit rewards FTW, naturally). But I’ve never heard the argument that it’s unethical for you to take advantage of your rewards if you’re being responsible with your spending and payments. I think the other commenters here leave good reasons as to why you’re ok and it’s the credit card companies who will end up burning eternally: because no matter what your consumer behavior is, credit card companies will continue to devise ways to make money off of all of their customers, one way or another.

  8. I believe you are going to hell for cheating on those tests. But you can charge your stay there on your MasterCard and earn reward points.

  9. […] in the Face digs up a post from his archives to get his blog through the tough times and discusses whether taking advantage of credit card rewards is ethical. I for one love my credt card […]

  10. Can’t wait to hear about the big life changing decision. It’s tomorrow already, Ninja!! Enquiring minds want to know!

  11. […] Life Craziness Good title that got my attention. I try to use my credit card for everything too because I know I […]

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