Ok. But I still don't understand why it's got the PSA (Peugeot Société Anonyme) label. 😜It could be a surprise for some people, which is why it's labeled as a PSA
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PSA: Apple Card's Interest Rate is Rising as Fed Battles Inflation
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Actually the financial institutions do privately consider folks that pay off their balances in full every month dead beats.
Why?
Simple.
We are getting "free" use of the bank's money for perhaps 45 days depending on the billing cycle and when the charge was made to the credit card. Some affinity cards have annual fees that more than off set interest charges. A late payment still gets the clock running. It is really easy to get behind the power curve for repayments at 35% interest.
If one carries a balance, the interest on that purchase made two minutes ago is earning interest for the bank as soon as the transaction hits their system. A delay of only a few seconds before the 20 to 35% actual interest starts accruing .
Why?
Simple.
We are getting "free" use of the bank's money for perhaps 45 days depending on the billing cycle and when the charge was made to the credit card. Some affinity cards have annual fees that more than off set interest charges. A late payment still gets the clock running. It is really easy to get behind the power curve for repayments at 35% interest.
If one carries a balance, the interest on that purchase made two minutes ago is earning interest for the bank as soon as the transaction hits their system. A delay of only a few seconds before the 20 to 35% actual interest starts accruing .
And they built all those transaction fees into the markup in the first place its such a racket and the consumer doesn't ultimately benefit.
I wouldn't consider it a con. If you pay your balance off every month (don't also pay interest), the cash back is 100% yours assuming the credit card doesn't have an annual fee. Yes, you have to buy something first but that is how discounts, coupons, rebates, cash back offers, etc. work. What is the "con job" here?
Actually, carrying a balance (not paying in full each month) can negatively impact your credit score. At least if it's a large balance. I am not aware of any advantage from a credit score standpoint to carrying a balance.
Must be something else going on with your activity if you see lower scores. I never pay any interest and maintain a 810+ score.
The card companies take on the risk of not getting paid back. No one forces people to overspend on their card and not pay back when the bill is due. If you want a lower interest loan, then get a loan from a bank; do not charge it to a credit card.
I don’t think you understand the banking system at all. There are reasons the rates differ. Good reasons. My brother does micro finance trying to build economies in under developed nations as a non profit. They have very high interest rates because if the default rate is high so they need to have bigger wins on the few who repay or else they run out of money and can no longer help people. Interest rates are a measure of future risk they are not arbitrary or a sign of corruption.
Now if you want to talk about politicians and bank bail outs and corruptions between DC and Financial institutions I am right there with you but you chose in of the worst examples.
I get a huge benefit using credit cards. If you don’t go back to cash. I think the cards are amazing. If they started charging me fees I would probably pay them…which some premium cards do despite “no benefit”.
It's not a worst-case example. It happened just 14 years ago and it's not the first time. The entire financial system became insolvent and required trillions of reserves from the Fed to function. That is a massive default. It has happened before and it will happen again.
"Does paying interest on credit card affect credit score?
In fact, it is not true. The interest rate you pay on your credit card is not reported to the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) by the credit card issuer."
www.credit.com/blog/credit-qa-does-interest-rate-affect-your-credit-score
Coincidentally, my blood pressure is also rising. What are the odds?
No other country is as obsessed with credit cards as USA. Most people in continental Europe don't even own credit cards
Paying interest doesn't increase your credit score, paying your bills on time every month does.
Correct. The majority of people using credit cards have no understanding of them.
That's not why you got dinged. I always pay my balances before statements generate and my credit score is always the same.
It's not a con, they just have zero understanding of credit card rewards.
It's not a con. Pay your bills on time and whatever rewards you get, are yours to keep. If you keep a balance, you've already negated the rewards because of the high interest rate you're paying. It's an extremely simple concept and not complex at all to understand.
Oh well, this makes sense, just this morning Apple increased my credit limit by +$1700. I doubt I will use it, I pride myself in being in control of my finances, so this is hardly an incentive for me to use credit. I only have the card because: 1) 3 % discount, 2) the titanium one looks really nice.
It came from credit card companies. Much the same as cigarette companies claiming they have no harmful effects or oil companies claiming they care about the environment or politicians claiming they’ll follow through on their campaign promises or…
That makes no sense. Credit worthiness is based on a lot of factors, none which include if you pay interest. They look of you pay on time, net assets, base salary, job stability
Ask yourself if it's lecturing or if it's a reasonable reaction in the face of obsessive over-spending and debt. Carrying a balance on a credit card is equivalent to setting money on fire for no gain. Reacting to people being intelligent about debt as some kind of message board etiquette character flaw is an insane reversal of reality. If someone posted here that they went to the Apple Store, bought a MacBook Pro, then went out into the street and threw an extra 20% in the gutter and walked away, I'd call out that behavior too, as should everyone. Don't normalize unsustainable consumer culture.
"Most people in continental Europe don't even own credit cards"
Did they cut them up since 2017 over there or something?
Love how people on here are trying to give credit card advice as if they’re talking to their kids.
Goes along well with how people here tell people what to buy and not to buy
You might want to recheck your facts. There are several countries where credit cards are more popular than in the U.S.
Credit card penetration by country | Statista
Credit card usage generally increased across the world between 2021 and 2017, although penetration remained below 50% in most countries.
www.statista.com
Percent people with credit cards by country, around the world | TheGlobalEconomy.com
The average for 2021 based on 121 countries was 22.26 percent. The highest value was in Canada: 82.74 percent and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 2011 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.