Re:Sears's History Predicts Almost Everything Amazon's Doing
by jldugger on Monday September 25, 2017 @08:09PM
(#15335187)
> It's like they didn't even want me as a customer if I was going to pay my bills every week.
I semi-suspect you know this, but if you pay in full every month, they don't get to bundle your debt up and sell it off as a security. Interchange fees are competitive enough that it's probably close to break even (and getting more so every year), but the securities are comparatively pretty sweet for the issuers.
Re:Sears's History Predicts Almost Everything Amazon's Doing
by stevekemp on Tuesday September 26, 2017 @09:00AM
(#15338196)
While you're probably correct its worth remembering that credit-card companies get their money from both sides:
* They earn money via the interest people way if they don't settle their bills in-full, and on-time.
* But they also take money for handling transactions at terminals, etc.
[edit] The end of the story for me:
The credit card I got from that was amazingly bad. I had a bill put in the wrong mailbox in my dorm, so didn't get it until 3 days before it was due. I called up customer service:
Me: I can mail this today, but it is unlikely to make it there by the due date, I've always paid my bills on time, can I get a 1 week extension
CS: We can do an ACH for $20 or you will pay a late fee if the check you mail is even a day late.
Me: Seriously?
CS: Yes
Me: Okay, do that and cancel my account.
CS: Okay.
It's like they didn't even want me as a customer if I was going to pay my bills every week. Not a single attempt to retain me when I canceled my account. At this point, I had a Discover card, the CS reps for which were very kind, and my bank had just gotten my debit card on the Mastercard network (previously it was only an ATM card), so I had no absolute need for their card. Had this happened a few months earlier I might not have been willing to cancel as so many places don't take Discover.