Who is a rewards fiend?

[Anonymous]

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watchnerd wrote:

They play a psychological trick on you that induce you to spend more than you might otherwise, thinking, 'Oh, but I'll get points for this.'

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Only if you have no self control over your spending.

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watchnerd wrote:

They're a pretty crappy return...$2500 in spending gives me a $25 gift certificate or cash back? Woopie frickin doo. What a reward.

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It's better than the 0% you would otherwise get.  Besides, it's not fair to lump all rewards cards into the same category as 1%-ers.  There are rewards cards that give 3-5% on certain categories of purchases.

Overall, my rewards average a little over 2% of my total spending.

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watchnerd wrote:

And, because they cost the CC company money, they're undoubtedly recouping the cost elsewhere...APRs, fees, or other ways.

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Maybe, but not from me.  I don't care about my APR because I PIF.  Fees?  Yes, some of my rewards cards have AFs, but I still come out way ahead.  Other ways?  Merchant transaction fees perhaps, but since merchants are passing those costs on to all of us anyway whether we use CCs or not, why would someone not want to be among those who get to collect on the rewards that all of us are paying for anyway?

[Anonymous]

I love rewards. I have Citibank's Thank You Network rewards and I've accumulated so many points last year, I got myself a carpet steam cleaner that is worth 400+ dollars for free! LOL. Sounds lame that I got that vs. some sort of "gadget," but hey, I have pets and I need this. I also got myself a free 8gb iPod. Nice!!!

I also have a couple of CashBack rewards cards, but they don't really benefit me as much since I don't ALWAYS pay in full.

And then there's the points I rack up with my Amex Blue Sky. It's really not that great, but hey, I always PIF with this card and I have the option of either buying a $100 plane ticket, OR have that hundred be credited to my account. I take the money because i've never heard of a $100 plane ticket in my life! lol

Lastly, I just got approved for the Amex Gold Rewards Plus card and I hear a lot of great things about that card. Despite the $150 annual fee, I feel that the rewards I get will far reach the amount they charge their customers annually.

That's all.

[Anonymous]

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jizoe182 wrote:
I take the money because i've never heard of a $100 plane ticket in my life! lol

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$49 to $99 specials on Southwest!

But, yeah, I'd take the cash, too.