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Your credit card rewards might not be worth it

I’ve long viewed credit cards, and their reward programs, as useful tools if you know how to use them.

If you pay off your balance in full each month, rewards programs are great. You get a little tiny rebate on every purchase.

If you don’t and are paying interest each month, reward programs are red herrings. They get you to stick around and use a card that’s paying you a few cents but “robbing” you of dollars.

Your credit card rewards might not be worth it [Vox] – “Rewards cards are only really useful for consumers who are generally credit-savvy. Less financially sophisticated consumers — meaning people with higher unpaid balances or who don’t pay off their cards month to month — ultimately end up losing out. They wind up subsidizing the rewards of people who are a little better at credit, wherever they fall on the income spectrum. More than half of credit card customers are “revolvers,” meaning they don’t pay off their full balances each month.” eeek.

I’ve long viewed travel insurance as a bit of a “scam” in the sense that it was largely unnecessary. Then Covid happened and we are not big fans. What Thomas describes is not even the stuff you pay extra for!

How To Travel In A Safe And Wise Way (What I Learned From The Southwest Failure) [The Long Game] – “I was apart of the horrible Southwest cancellations in late December. And when I say horrible, I mean horrible.” Use your card benefits!

This next one… Hmmmm… 😡

U.S. military-run slot machines earn $100 million a year from service members overseas [NPR] – “The slot machines, operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, earn the DOD more than $100 million each year in the name of “morale, welfare, and recreation” for service members, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office that was written in response to demands from Congress.”

Have a great weekend!