The psychology of rewards

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

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@DrZoidberg wrote:

This site is a kind of a joke. People celebrate $500 credit lines like they just won the lottery. It's not healthy how obsessed peopl have become and excited they get by obtaining a new debt tool. What's worse is the people who just filed for bankruptcy start posting months later all the new credit cards they just got. 

This site has good advice and information, but majority of this stie needs to stay out of the credit card and approval section .

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Right -- if you just got out of BK, chances are that obtaining 20 new credit cards is not a great move!

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But for some, a $500 IS like winning the lottery! I've been there. BK and other nastiness when DH and I were in our twenties (separately, and at different times). So when we got our first secured Cap One cards after both having been screw ups, it was AMAZING. And then UN-secured. WOW. Super amazing. 

I know some people can do the all-cash thing, but our society makes it increasingly difficult to not have SOME kind of credit card available. For some, should they stick to secured for longer or forever? Probably. Could we all exist with secured cards? I'd hope so. But when we're at a point that we can manage to leverage the banks money and policies to our advantage, I think it's okay to get excited about it. 

(but yes, 20 cards via SCT etc. after BK, not good)

[Anonymous]

I am very responsible with credit cards (never use over 30% utilization and always pay entire balance each month) and I would find it foolish to purchase large items with cash. I'll take the cash back bonus and bonus for signing up, thank you. Every penny counts (1.5%-5%); it's like deducting sales tax if you had to purchase an item in your state or simply saving 1.5%-5%.

And I always count my inquires; it's standing at 4 all across.

[Anonymous]

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@DrZoidberg wrote:

This site is a kind of a joke. People celebrate $500 credit lines like they just won the lottery. It's not healthy how obsessed peopl have become and excited they get by obtaining a new debt tool. What's worse is the people who just filed for bankruptcy start posting months later all the new credit cards they just got. 

This site has good advice and information, but majority of this stie needs to stay out of the credit card and approval section .

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Until you have been there, you will have a hard time understanding why someone will celebrate getting a $500 card after bankruptcy (NOTE: I have never filed BK).  But when you have gone through something hellish like that, a $500 approval is a sign of success and a start over hence the celebration.

[DrZoidberg]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@DrZoidberg wrote:

This site is a kind of a joke. People celebrate $500 credit lines like they just won the lottery. It's not healthy how obsessed peopl have become and excited they get by obtaining a new debt tool. What's worse is the people who just filed for bankruptcy start posting months later all the new credit cards they just got. 

This site has good advice and information, but majority of this stie needs to stay out of the credit card and approval section .

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Until you have been there, you will have a hard time understanding why someone will celebrate getting a $500 card after bankruptcy (NOTE: I have never filed BK).  But when you have gone through something hellish like that, a $500 approval is a sign of success and a start over hence the celebration.

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Most of the approvals I am talking about are not post BK. Most are people who have 25+ INQ, 30 store cards and 600 scores who just keep getting more usless store cards.

[kdm31091]

The point of my post is not to criticize anyone. Of course at the end of the day "live and let live". If one wants 20 cards to get the absolute maximum rewards, that's fine. Doesn't impact me! I'm just giving my opinion on the matter. That's why this is a discussion forum

Nobody's "needs" will match; my point is more that sometimes people decide they "need" x card for dining spend, and in the process end up spending more on dining , etc to get more rewards. Just as an example.

Of course if one is spending the money anyway they may as well get some type of reward but that wasn't really my point.

[longtimelurker]

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@Sharingan wrote:

I've never been one to concern myself with the activities of others. If someone wants to apply for any and every rewards card that they see, I will not be one to discourage them from doing so. Eventually, people do find out whether or not their decisions were good decisions; and hopefully, they learn from any past mistakes going forward. Sometimes it's better for people to experience things firsthand. 

Though, I don't understand why people question what others have simply because it doesn't translate well to their lifestyle. For example, I have a nosy coworker who likes to question how and why I have the premium car that I do when a Kia can also get me from Point A to Point B. Live your life and let me live mine the way I want. My motto has been, "one's wants to do not have to match another's needs." I believe it also applies in the discussion of credit cards and their rewards. 

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I think some of the complaint is more second order, person X gets (or is induced to app for) a cc, and people here cheer them on.   Which is not quite live and let live, more pushing them (and others reading) in a certain direction.

Of course, you can then say, correctly, that is their (the cheerers) business and if they want to do it, and others are influenced by it, that's on them.

On KDMs original question, I agree that people here tend to obsses a lot on small things (the basic truth being rewards wise: MS>>Bonus Chasing >> Rewards from normal spend) but there are many worse habits, and given that many deciding between QS and DC aren't really going to get into trouble either way, it is a harmless enough distraction.

[Anonymous]

Another thing I found is that there are lenders I just 'like' better. I love that Barclay posts rewards with the charge, but that's about it. Everything just feels weird about their site. I'd say it is that I have to log in separately to see my A+ and DH's SM, but we've got two log ins for Disco and AmEx and it doesn't bother me in the least. 

I like Citibank ok, and I recently had diverted all general spend to Double Cash from A+. But their website has some wonkiness for me. I think it's wrapped up in the fact that I've got HD, BB and Citibank proper cards. I think Chrome gets confused. Or their site does. But they're sort of OK to me. 

I'm good with Chase. They've been the most consistent over time (website, knowing how they work with ongoing CC's, etc.). I don't mind their website or app. 

But I'm happiest with Discover and AmEx. And it just so happens that's where most of my spend will end up. More psychology for you.

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Sharingan wrote:

I've never been one to concern myself with the activities of others. If someone wants to apply for any and every rewards card that they see, I will not be one to discourage them from doing so. Eventually, people do find out whether or not their decisions were good decisions; and hopefully, they learn from any past mistakes going forward. Sometimes it's better for people to experience things firsthand. 

Though, I don't understand why people question what others have simply because it doesn't translate well to their lifestyle. For example, I have a nosy coworker who likes to question how and why I have the premium car that I do when a Kia can also get me from Point A to Point B. Live your life and let me live mine the way I want. My motto has been, "one's wants to do not have to match another's needs." I believe it also applies in the discussion of credit cards and their rewards. 

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I think some of the complaint is more second order, person X gets (or is induced to app for) a cc, and people here cheer them on.   Which is not quite live and let live, more pushing them (and others reading) in a certain direction.

Of course, you can then say, correctly, that is their (the cheerers) business and if they want to do it, and others are influenced by it, that's on them.

On KDMs original question, I agree that people here tend to obsses a lot on small things (the basic truth being rewards wise: MS>>Bonus Chasing >> Rewards from normal spend) but there are many worse habits, and given that many deciding between QS and DC aren't really going to get into trouble either way, it is a harmless enough distraction.

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I ended up on an 'all about me' tangent, but this is something I meant to say. I didn't stop to think what kind of money we were talking about when we app'd for all those cards out the gate. Meaning the difference between 1/1.5/2% on this or that category. SM is the one card I really wish we'd not gotten. It's great for what it is, but not for us with it's caps. 

[Open123]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

On KDMs original question, I agree that people here tend to obsses a lot on small things (the basic truth being rewards wise: MS>>Bonus Chasing >> Rewards from normal spend) but there are many worse habits, and given that many deciding between QS and DC aren't really going to get into trouble either way, it is a harmless enough distraction.

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While this may be true, on the ethical scale, from ethical to...er...not ethical:  Normal spend > Bonus Chasing > MS.

[Anonymous]

Zoidberg. Great minds think alike! 😁