The premium rewards cards people love collecting points on aren’t always that rewarding.
Whether it’s the American Express Platinum, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, or the new Citi Strata Elite, Americans love their fancy credit cards.
They come with hefty annual fees — $895 for Amex and Chase — but that’s where the rewards come in. Credit-card companies say they come with perks worth more than $3,000.
That math might sound simple, but the reality is a lot more complicated when it comes to premium cards’ benefit to users. BI’s Emily Stewart spoke to personal finance gurus and economists about how these cards often lead consumers to spend more without maxing out their benefits.
And it’s not just a matter of leaving perks on the table. There’s a bigger question about whether the benefits actually make sense for you or are just a smart bit of psychology to get you spending more.
As Emily points out: Are you using the card to support your lifestyle, or are you shaping your lifestyle to support the card?
For the pointsmaxxers getting angry reading this, I see you.
Premium credit cards are a religion for some, and they’re happy to tell you the benefits of praying at the altar of the points god.
They’re the first to throw their card down at group dinners “for the points” and love bragging about their access to airport lounges. As annoying as they can be (sorry, but it’s true) they’re making premium cards work for them, which is great.
Others get caught in a vicious spending cycle. Don’t let the “premium” tag fool you. About a third of people with a FICO score of 800 or up end up carrying a balance on their cards. And if you’ve taken a look at credit-card interest rates these days — nearly 24% on average — that’s not good.
Whichever side of the argument you fall on, we want to hear from you! We’re polling readers about their usage of reward credit cards. Answer some questions here.
Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle. I have a rewards card, but it’s the cheap one (Chase Sapphire Preferred.) I can collect points with the best of them, but more often than not I’m cashing them out for a direct deposit into my account.
It might not be the best use of the points, but neither is credit for a Peloton I’ll never use.
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