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May 11, 2006
Taking credit card money $25 at a time
I got an email the other day asking me if I felt guilty about applying for a credit card just to get a $25 sign up bonus with no intention of ever using the card. Well, credit card issuers earned $16 billion (yeah, $16,000,000,000) just in penalty fees last year. Ten years ago, the average late fee was about $12. Five years ago, it was $27. Now, the average is $34. One credit card in my wallet charges $39.
Credit card companies deserve to make a profit. But $39 for a late payment would wipe out that $25 bonus and then some. It just seems high. Why have late fees almost tripled in a decade? Inflation hasn't gone up that much.
So, no, I don't feel guilty about taking credit card company bonus money. They make the rules of the game, trying to entice you with sign up money and then getting you to carry a balance at 18%, 22%, even 25% interest. I'm just playing along, thank you very much.
Posted by brian at May 11, 2006 11:40 AM