frugalQ wrote:
I see this as a win win. If you are already planning to pay the Jared balance (whether in installments or in full), its more beneficial to pay it with a rewards card...and repurpose the Jared bill payment to your rewards cards. I don't consider that robbing Peter to pay Paul.
It's the exact same concept as using your credit card to pay utilities.
The major credit card companies may actually have Jared in the online mall of stores and you can get 5x the rewards points for using their link.
However, as with all things credit, you have to have the discipline to actually pay the 'daily expenses' credit card in full each month.
I never thought about that! Places like Discover mall, ultimate rewards mall, and even navy federal mall has great discounts on top of regular rewards!!
Mods please feel free to modify or delete this post if it's deemed offensive. I just feel people are dancing around the issue.
How many people using Jareds qualify for a rewards card good enough to offset the interest rate?
IMO, it's a math thing. If you're still going deeper in the hole, it doesn't make sense.
I'm not arguing that there aren't scenarios where doing this makes good financial sense. Simply saying occasions where it makes sense are relatively rare.
Starting Score: 675
drkaje wrote:Mods please feel free to modify or delete this post if it's deemed offensive. I just feel people are dancing around the issue.
How many people using Jareds qualify for a rewards card good enough to offset the interest rate?
IMO, it's a math thing. If you're still going deeper in the hole, it doesn't make sense.
I'm not arguing that there aren't scenarios where doing this makes good financial sense. Simply saying occasions where it makes sense are relatively rare.
I don't have Jared's, but if I did, I have some pretty good cards that I could use. Several of them are still on a 0% promo i.e. Chase Freedom, my citi AA, my Navy Fed is still on 0% on purchases, etc.
@ LesW,
Jared's APR ranges from 5-24.99%.
They're a good company for those rebuilding and I'm not knocking them in the least. Simply stating that someone would need a rewards card that actually offset whatever interest they were paying for doing what the original post was about to actually make sense.
Bouncing debt around on 0% offers doesn't always help people save money unless they aggressively pay it down.
I must agree with most of the sentiment about it being obtuse. I do PIF every month anyway and I don't have a Jared's account. (I do have some account or used to for Jewels, but never actually used it, I thought it would report to the credit bureaus so I got it, but since it didn't and I didn't want to simply buy something so it would, I never used it.) I guess if I did have the account I would use it for reporting, then PIF with another card, then PIF that card to get the rewards.
I guess I would have to weigh that against there being better points or cash back from the card mall too. I would certainly do whatever got the best discount and rewards!
Wait. I am new here but this seems almost ummm..questionable. The mint had something like this awhile back and they stopped it.
Folks could buy Coin currency via credit card at a 1 to 1 rate of exchange. one quarter for one quarter for example. Then the cash was shipped to them during the mint's free shipping promotion and the buyer had the same dollar amount in cash (Coin) currency in hand that he paid on his "Reward" points card.
Said person then returned said currency to his bank, again at a one to one rate and paid off the balance of his purchase but managed to hang onto all the reward points which he could then turn in for gift cards, statement credits, products or services of value.
I see the Jared thing as the same sort of manipulation. Technically okay, but morally, prolly not so much.
frugalQ wrote:
I pay my cell phone, water, car insurance, cable, home warranty, security alarm bills with my Amex....for the sole purpose of getting Reward points. Am I morally wrong for doing this?
Absolutely not!
I do the exact same thing.
Anybody who doesn't take advantage of rewards when paying their bills is foolish IMO.
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