@longtimelurker wrote:
@onstar wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:I have to admit I'm a little bit confused as to why anyone wouldn't change their auto-pay for a few months to get this benefit. $30 back on $225 spend (plus the standard reward for that spend) is way better than any earning potential we all get excited about, not including spend bonuses on new cards of course.
It takes about 2 minutes to change what card is used for your auto-pay. After 3 months you spend another 2 minutes to change it back. I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something.
I happen to have this offer on my BCE. It almost makes me sad I switched to Sprint recently and only pay $55 per month. Almost.
It's just a question of effort vs small gain. There are lots of ways to gain $7 ($10 vs 4% on $75) and while this may seem small effort, so is clipping coupons etc. Just not worth it to me, in the same way I don't excited by the BBR card. People have different thresholds!
3 things:
(1) Not everyone has a card that can do 4% at phone bill pay. So closer to 1.5% or 2%. At 2% = $1.50 per month on $75 bill.
(2) If you're gonna compare $10 vs 4%, then you should also look at the 1% most people will get on the $75 in addition to the $10 bonus = $10.75 per month.
(3) You can do this 3 times so it's closer to $28 in savings for most ($32.25 vs $4.50).
Ok, still not life changing amount but that's a lot of happy meals.
1) The question was why some people wouldn't bother. So I gave an example as someone with such a 5% card. Some don't have Amex cards. Or, like me, the offer!
2) The cards pay 5% on phone bills (Cash Plus, various Inks) so my 4% was already taking the difference between 5 and 1%
3) Doing it 3 times is 3 times doing something I don't find worth doing! So, doesn't change my opinion...
Again, the question was:
I have to admit I'm a little bit confused as to why anyone wouldn't change their auto-pay for a few months to get this benefit.
And I gave my reasons as a sample anyone. Of course, some people find it worthwhile, and some get excited by the BBR. Just a question of how much this is worth to you, compared to other things you could do in the same time.
Obviously if you don't have an Amex or the offer, then you can't get take advantage. I thought it was implied that when I said anyone I was only referring to the people who could add it to an Amex they already had. Sorry for not being more clear.
Thanks for the math, onstar. I was in the middle of doing it myself and then looked closer at this quoted exchange. Agreed that it's not life changing, but I'm looking to save every penny at the moment. It's kind of a fun game. I haven't gotten into coupons yet though. I'm not sure if I'm willing to go that far yet lol.
