Re:Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
by hakfoo on Thursday August 18, 2022 @12:26AM
(#32505261)
I note recently they've recently changed it to present as "Thank You" points at a rate of 100-to-the-dollar.
The cynic in me wonders how long before they devalue them. It's easier to start changing the rules for "points redemption" when they aren't saying outright "You have $112.75 in cashback value" on the statement.
They recently had a promotion-- use the points directly to buy on Amazon, but if you paid that way, it was debased-- something like 120 to the dollar. It was actually better for me to buy what I wanted on credit, redeem the points as a bank transfer, and settle the bill at the end of the month.
Re:Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
by arcticbull on Friday August 19, 2022 @05:55PM
(#32526439)
It could be a devaluation precursor, or it could just be psychological. Points-denominated rewards break the association with the actual dollar value. Folks feel better (irrationally so) about earning 100 points each worth $0.01 than they do about earning $1.00
Re:Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
by TMWNN on Wednesday August 17, 2022 @10:57PM
(#32504722)
>Citi Double Cash is a 2% cash-back no annual fee card.
Wells Fargo Active Cash is the other such card that I know of among big banks.
Re:Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?
by ciabattabread on Thursday August 18, 2022 @10:22AM
(#32510018)
So can we consider the airline a division of a major bank?
Chase - United
Citibank - American Airlines
AMEX - Delta
Interchange benefits merchants too - there's real costs associated with holding cash, and average cart sizes are significantly bigger for credit cards. They also miss out on fewer sales.
You may not value rewards programs but customers, card issuers and certainly those who operate those programs do. They're massive business. Frequently the only profitable part of a US domestic airline is its frequent flyer program - which gets the bulk of its money from credit card reward programs.
Credit card companies have even provided debtor in possession financing for airlines in the US by pre-purchasing multi-billion dollar blocks of frequent flyer miles. Here's when Amex did it for Delta in 2011. [1]
[1] https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/money/american-express-rea...