The Dark Side of Credit Card Rewards | NYT Opinion 

❌❌❌The true problem is the corrupt legacy media like NYT who covers up for the corrupt legacy finance who uses corrupt government officials in their vicious war against freedom & DeFi 🤏

Yeah the merchant is going to raise the price of their goods to cover the highest interchange fee on the market regardless if the card you use has a lower interchange fee

In some parts of Europe, merchants charge a fee if you use a CC.

Yeah those merchants are simply going to keep prices the same and eat up the % difference

But small business usually has to sell at msrp or lower prices to compete all while paying higher costs on the merchandise in the first place.

Yes this. Thank you

That's also why the video ends by saying that the player can't fix the game. It requires an actual bill to reign in these monopolies.

@@ehsan_kiathe bill is written by Walmart to cut costs on interchange fees but they never brought down prices after the last Durbin bill got rid of debit card fees.

@@ehsan_kia The big box retailers are sponsoring a bill to lower swipe fees so that 1) prices stay high....for everyone and 2) they keep the swipe fees vs the payment companies. NYT doesn't mention that this bill is being sponsored by the national retailer lobbying group.

@@Astrobucks2 obviously they have a lot to gain, but it's unclear if they will keep 100% of the profits or lower the prices. there will be other market forces, but in general I'd rather stores have the money than CC companies

but you're not getting every dime back, but it stays with the credit card company. That's the point. At least the product you pay for, has value, unlike the credit system

This getting rid of the rewards wont lower fees. It will just go to the banks

@@fetB they said "every dime back I can". Not every single dime they spend. if we shop places like walmart, target, costco, etc the price is always the same so pay with the debit card and get no rewards or pay with the travel card and get a free flight. My best credit card also has auto rental insurance coverage from it.

​@@fire2box and i didnt say every single. I understand that he's saying he's getting back what he can. My point is, OP is saying it's all good because you can get some back, which copium. You dont get anything back, or if, it is literally dimes, else the banks dont make money. You just pay in other ways. Whether it is you choosing the airline that has your miles, or whatever commitment to whoever you make. It soft-locks you in, instead of you actually choosing the best price, and you even feel like you got a deal. It is also copium to be so sure that if fees were lowered, the up-charge would remain. It would only take one to put the price back down and the free market corrects itself. Credit cards are a scam and only cash/free digital transfers, is freedom

@@fetB You've used the term "copium" several times now. How about using real words to make your arguments, or are you a child?

100% correct

Also not taking cash is less of a headache come time for financial reporting, preventing theft, and should u get audited. 🤌

Whoomp there it is!!🥳

"well that's the system" makes it seem like there is no choice... What if we were allowed to have the convience of credit cards, without exorbitant fees? You know we're techincally allowed to make rules in this society

@@DiamondDaveGtr bruh. U need capital to make rules in this society. Ur face: 😵. 🤣

I’m barely middle class but I have a perfect credit score. It has nothing to do with being wealthy.

You forget you get groceries, gas , etc everyday. So a treat later is fine. Example: this is me I use my cards through the month. I pay at end of month All the while my cash in bank Accumulates interest in that month . Which is about let’s say 1,000. So I gain money as well as points Each year I accumulate enough money and points for a vacation first class round trip for about a month. It’s a reward for something you do anyway

Merchants don't really offer cash discounts. They place at surcharge on credit use. The only place I've ever seen this is gas stations. Some people see the lower price per gallon for cash and think it's a discount.

Yeah that's the prob most people don't pay it off as they keep buying. It makes you buy more. I'm the same as you, and I almost want to close it as I can save and pay for things otherwise I won't buy it

So you use your card on a machine that has a skimmer. Do you want your credit card or the card that's tied to your bank account compromised?

Four decades ago, no ATMs charged fees for out-of-network transactions, but eventually that became commonplace on most ATMs. Similarly, I could see most merchants going to charging surcharges for credit cards in the next 20 years (inflation is pushing many businesses to do it even quicker than they might have done otherwise). People will likely object at first but then probably just go along with it, just like people have learned to accept ATM fees. If you want to avoid fees, you can use cash/debit instead of credit, just like you can avoid ATM fees by going to your own bank.

And living in a post COVID world it seems like actual cash is looked at as dirty 😂

Its smart. I wouldn't either.

Yes or given fake bills. Happened to my store a few times.

its a violation of the card agreement.

@@mathgasm8484 lots of stores are breaking that rule.

@@mathgasm8484why can some small shops do it then? Talking about the US here

​@@mathgasm8484I am speaking as someone who sells credit card processing equipment. Stores are allowed to request cash discount programs with their payment processors (not all payment processors do it, but some do, which might require the merchant to switch payment processors). What you are not allowed to do is to start charging a credit card surcharge without officially signing up to do that with a payment processor who allows that option. If you start doing it off the books without telling the payment processor, that violates Visa/MasterCard agreements (they can fine and blacklist the merchant from taking cards if they get caught in an audit), and the fee also gets reflected onto the 1099-K and gets counted as income for the IRS on the merchant tax return (if you sign up to do it with the payment processor like you are supposed to, the fee gets subtracted out of the 1099-K and not get counted as income).

@@jrowlet I know a lot of places in mid America/ Bible Belt that say cash will give you discount Or it has 2 prices on it one for card and one for cash . They started doing that when the card fee rose.

exactly! this video is trying to let poor people avoid repairing their credit and reaping the benefits of that 6% money back from grocery and gas!

Be responsible, Get a card without an annual fee, sign up for accounts with the big three (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) along with Credit Karma to stay on top of your identity, and enable all the notifications from your cc account (text, email, push).

This video misrepresents the dynamics of credit card rewards. The Federal Reserve conducted a thorough study revealing that sophisticated consumers disproportionately benefit from reward credit cards, often at the expense of less informed ones. These rewards are funded not by swipe fees as suggested, but largely through mechanisms that exploit naive consumers. This includes increased spending due to reward incentives and higher interest charges due to sub-optimal repayment strategies. The study estimates an annual redistribution of $15 billion from the less educated and poorer to the more educated and richer, exacerbating existing disparities www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/who- pays-for-your-rewards-redistribution-in-the-credit-card-market.htm

Lies again? Debit Card After Dark X

❌❌❌The true problem is the corrupt legacy media like NYT who covers up for the corrupt legacy finance who uses corrupt government officials in their vicious war against freedom & DeFi 🤏

Glad to hear. What did you change in your business?

How are you not paying swipe fees?

​@@hummerguy I accept payments via wires, ACH, and Zelle now.

@@minicello231 I stopped accepting credit cards. I accept payments via wires, ACH, and Zelle now. But, I still use the heck out of my personal and business credit cards.

Crazy to think that in Mexico that's illegal, you can get a business fined for trying to charge you a percentage for paying with a cc.

@chrisgooglemaps2108 I understand.Every operating cost is ultimately included in the ptoduct price. So if you pay cash you should subsidize the cost of card users? That is the issue our owner had. Her customers are so frugal adding that subsidy to a menu ptice would get push back.

​@chrisgooglemaps2108when fees are factored into the cost of business, they are passed into the consumers. The consumer pays one way or another. Is there some magic fairy that pays business costs other than the consumer?

But my cards cover that as well so you’re not really paying .

You forget you get groceries, gas , etc everyday. So a treat later is fine. Example: this is me I use my cards through the month. I pay at end of month All the while my cash in bank Accumulates interest in that month . Which is about let’s say 1,000. So I gain money as well as points Each year I accumulate enough money and points for a vacation first class round trip for about a month. It’s a reward for something you do anyway

Agreed. This has total carbon footprint vibes. There was a way better way to frame this video.

This one ressone The NY Times has been losing money and respect over the past decade. As they rely more and more on advertising by corporations their coverage becomes more and more biased. I used to be a NY Times Sunday edition subscriber but I could no longer justify giving money to a media establishment that pushes censorship and extremely partisan political coverage. I'm not a conservative but I can see when I'm being manipulated and fed propaganda that serves one party, regardless of facts and the truth.

This video is purposely an attempt to help end the issue it speaks of. Any attempt to convince Visa or Mastercard that what they are doing is wrong would be pointless, so why would they present the video that way? What would that achieve? Nothing-Visa isn’t watching this video going “shoot my bad I’ll stop making a ton of money now.” Putting some responsibility on the consumer may in fact do something however: for now, I, at least, am much more inclined to use cash or debit the next time I shop at a small business, and much less inclined to sign up for any more rewards cards. Moreover, I may just call my senators to tell them to support that bill. Feeling partly responsible for a bad act is a bad feeling, but, hopefully, as I imagine the producers wanted, that bad feeling is one that will lead to activism that could lead to a positive change in the world.

have you watched the video all the way till the end? Because this is not true

@@majoritarian7864”Oh wow after seeing this video I decided i wont be using my credit card anymore and help me save money so that i am able to help other people save money otherwise i would be a bad person” these are the vibes i get

Very true

That’s a typical selfish western attitude which kills the small businesses across the world. Me, Me, ME, ME! At least here in Korea people are considerate about this issue and pay cash or simply buy more so the owner does not have to bear the additional cost. Everyone benefits. But hey you can do what’s good for you.

Because stores have to pay fees for these cards it PUSHES UP PRICES for everybody but the poor don't get the REWARDS. Did you watch the video?

How does Korea reap the rewards? If anyggjng the US screws then ove for cheap goods. Another narcissistic American tw..t

@@10secondsrule Human beings will 'always' act in their own self interests. It's biology and human psychology. It's why collectivist ideas fail and capitalism wins over time. Never forget that. Always remember the science.

@@10secondsruleOoof no offense mate, but I lived in South Korea for years and people are generally more selfish and less concerned about how their consumerist mentality affects the working class. And no, I didn’t live in Seoul. Just sort of seemed business owners were more strict about “no card accepted under x amount” I don’t think Korean media would have opinion pieces on the matter, meanwhile here we are watching a “western” editorial piece calling this problem out.

You forget you get groceries, gas , etc everyday. So a treat later is fine. Example: this is me I use my cards through the month. I pay at end of month All the while my cash in bank Accumulates interest in that month . Which is about let’s say 1,000. So I gain money as well as points Each year I accumulate enough money and points for a vacation first class round trip for about a month. It’s a reward for something you do anyway

A pan is a terrible purchase, if anything a trip...

In some places it’s illegal to offer a discount based on the method it payment.

@@smileychess Good thing it’s legal in my area.

This video is purposely an attempt to help end the issue it speaks of. Any attempt to convince Visa or Mastercard that what they are doing is wrong would be pointless, so why would they present the video that way? What would that achieve? Nothing-Visa isn’t watching this video going “shoot my bad I’ll stop making a ton of money now.” Putting some responsibility on the consumer may in fact do something however: for now, I, at least, am much more inclined to use cash or debit the next time I shop at a small business, and much less inclined to sign up for any more rewards cards. Moreover, I may just call my senators to tell them to support that bill. Feeling partly responsible for a bad act is a bad feeling, but, hopefully, as I imagine the producers wanted, that bad feeling is one that will lead to activism that could lead to a positive change in the world.

Agreed. Blaming the consumer never works and I would argue this is exactly what VISA/MC wants since they know that. Legislation is the primary answer.

It's not in your best personal interest. You're paying for these "rewards" with the swipe fees at the payment processor. It's an illusion.

@@alifleih The point is I'm paying those fees regardless, at least if I use my rewards credit card I'm getting some of them back.

@@JaredHoutsma my friend if you don't pay with your rewards card you won't get charged with those fees lol

@@pasta-and-heroin The cardholder isn't charged with the fee, the business is. Increasing prices of goods in the only way for businesses to counteract this fee, which means we are all paying for that fee regardless of if you pay in cash, debit, or with credit.

It seems that the point this video makes is that none of your flights are actually "free" because you've been paying elevated prices for everything else all along because various retailers compensate for the big fees they have to give to cc companies

@@tabularasa sadly a sign of poor education people are easily fooled.

There no such thing as a free lunch as it was clearly explained here. You did completely not understand the basic merit of this video and only showed in writing that the world is spinning around you. I get it though not everyone can afford flying. I can’t. So I don’t fly often.

@SouthernLife7772 In my comment above, I'm not saying "Do not take advantage of these point programs," rather, I'm saying don't be misled to believe that you are getting anything for "free," because you aren't, as this video outlines.

Well said.

Agreed.

The point of the video is that you should not use credits cards to help better your future because you should be helping people who you dont even know exist instead. So when you die of starvation you can say yourself “Hey at least i helped little tim…”

I don't think it matters in the context of this video because the money is still coming from somewhere. That's what I do as well.

If it works for you it’s not a bad thing. Don’t carry a month to month balance and don’t pay these exorbitant interest rates

Depend on if that credit reduces the amount eligible for rebate of that month's balance. The cleanest and best way is cash redemption or a deposit into your checking/savings account if you have it with the same bank. Redeeming for gift card is also a silly idea for the same reason.

Not really.

For debit theres no reward but since a few years ago my country has a few credit cards with rewards but they are lower than the Americans but because of the eu there’s limit on how much visa and Mastercard can charge, Americans are very individualists but the eu is trying to turn us into “Americans” by the day

Why do they provide zero rewards? Do they charge little swipe fee to merchants?

That's the whole point of the video. Poor people can't or don't take advantage of it. Think about it. If everyone took advantage of it like the public school, the cost increases and quality goes down unless someone pays for it

@@sonicblare poor people can, they just tend not to because they're unaware. Anyone with an income can get credit cards they just have to maintain them (pay on time) and then they'll build credit and qualify for cards with rewards. This video paints a narrative that it's out of reach, but that's not the case

How does upi work?

3:02 these rewards are not really rewards - they are ultimately paid by you.

@@zhizhongpu8937 They're paid by all of us. ⚒ As long as I don't pay interest on anything, whatever I pay in processing fees would happen either way. So I might was well use the CC and get points.

you get groceries, gas , etc everyday. So a treat later is fine. Example: this is me I use my cards through the month. I pay at end of month All the while my cash in bank Accumulates interest in that month . Which is about let’s say 1,000. So I gain money as well as points Each year I accumulate enough money and points for a vacation first class round trip for about a month. It’s a reward for something you do anyway

@@zhizhongpu8937 You forget you get groceries, gas , etc everyday. So a treat later is fine. Example: this is me I use my cards through the month. I pay at end of month All the while my cash in bank Accumulates interest in that month . Which is about let’s say 1,000. So I gain money as well as points Each year I accumulate enough money and points for a vacation first class round trip for about a month. It’s a reward for something you do anyway

"to those who have worked hard improving their credit" this sounds bizarre from Europe. Like really bizarre. That's crazy that someone will "work hard" for such thing

Honestly I see more and more local places these days around me going “cashless” 🤷🏼‍♀️

This video is poppycock. Keep getting your rewards.

This video is purposely an attempt to help end the issue it speaks of. Any attempt to convince Visa or Mastercard that what they are doing is wrong would be pointless, so why would they present the video that way? What would that achieve? Nothing-Visa isn’t watching this video going “shoot my bad I’ll stop making a ton of money now.” Similarly, just passively talking about the legislation a lot isn’t going to do anything to get it passed. Putting some responsibility on the consumer may in fact do something however: for now, I, at least, am much more inclined to use cash or debit the next time I shop at a small business, and much less inclined to sign up for any more rewards cards. Moreover, I may just call my senators to tell them to support that bill. And my senators may just see this video and becoming aware of an issue they were not before. Feeling partly responsible for a bad act is a bad feeling, but, hopefully, as I imagine the producers wanted, that bad feeling is one that will lead to activism that could lead to a positive change in the world.

@@majoritarian7864 I'm not reading this. not interested.