"People who do math don't have credit card debt."

[gone-ot]

Bitcoin to my ears is nothing more than a digital Pyramid/Ponzi Scheme being operating thru your keyboard.

[freebeard]

Bitcoin to my [eyes and] ears is nothing less than Humanity being gamed into creating the infrastructure necessary for it's own oppression or liberation, depending, by robot overlords. The block-chain is a command and control system for Sophia, the android citizen of Saudi Arabia.

That's not a Ponzi scheme, that's throwing the chessboard up in the air.

[jamesqf]

Back to credit cards... I got the strangest credit card offer in the mail yesterday - the MasterCard "Black Card" (guess they ran out of precious metals) made out of a patented stainless steel and carbon sandwich, a bunch of "benefits" like access to airport lounges, and a $495 annual fee. Yes, that's right: four hundred and ninety five US dollars a year for a fancy credit card. Never mind that they're sending this to someone who seldom puts that much on all his cards in a month, or that I basically never fly commercial: why on Earth would anyone pay that sort of money for a credit card, when you can get better signup bonuses and cash back for free?

https://www.creditcards.com/reviews/...rd-black-card/

[Xist]

Superficial bragging rights. Ecomodders focus on getting value. It seems like everyone else wants to show off how much they spend.

[freebeard]

Haven't had a credit card since 1975.

[redpoint5]

My lifestyle of what I consider extravagant excess was mostly funded by $40k per year. Then again, I didn't have $500/mo student loans. That is a big obligation. I'd look into refinancing it if the interest rates are above 6% or so.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Xist

Superficial bragging rights.

I have real trouble imagining a bunch of people getting together and whipping out their credit cards for a bragging contest. These days, how often does anyone else ever see the card? You just push it in the card reader slot...

Though I admit the receptionist at my vet admired the cute little picture on the REI-branded card I'm using these days. (0% for a year, and $100 credit on REI stuff...)

[wdb]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

[...] why on Earth would anyone pay that sort of money for a credit card, when you can get better signup bonuses and cash back for free?

https://www.creditcards.com/reviews/...rd-black-card/

I know people who think that card represents a good value proposition. Those people make a lot of money, travel a lot, and spend a lot. The benefits the card gives them are worth more than the annual fee. I would guess that they sent the offer to you because you travel a lot?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by wdb

I would guess that they sent the offer to you because you travel a lot?

You would be wrong, because I really don't travel at all. I haven't taken a commercial flight in more than a decade, and wouldn't for anything much less than a life-or-death emergency. (I haven't the patience to deal with TSA security theater, nor do I like being crammed into airline sardine cans.) Sold my own plane a few years ago, too, and haven't driven more than a few hundred miles from home.

My idea of a vacation is to go backpacking, bike touring, or horse camping, and people tend to come here to do that, so why should I travel? Especially when I can't take my dogs & horse :-)

[Xist]

I have two loans at 6.1%, one subsidized, and one unsubsidized. I paid down the unsubsidized one about two thousand back when I thought I had the money for it.

My loans average 3.4% or so. I know that I could do income-based repayment, but if I do not accomplish anything else in the next eight or nine years, I want to pay off my loans.