[algoatecorn]

I wonder how much of this is just due to education. I know several people who make good money, but carry over absurd amounts on their cards each month, losing hundreds of dollars.

These same people have tens of thousands, probably more, in their savings. But for some reason they can't bring themselves to pulling a chunk of their savings out and zero-ing the debt.

I think they were taught that savings should only go up, but don't realize they're being totally fleeced by 20% interest rates.

[maerF0x0]

Or another pattern, which I presume CC companies bank on : People forget to pay in the grace window and hence get charged _some_ interest, and often get into a pattern where they pay off the wrong debts first etc.

So they're earning upto 4.5% on their savings, and then paying out like 20-25% on the debt.

[2OEH8eoCRo0]

Is that why there are a seemingly endless number of cards with their own stupid perks? It's a ruse so that people are more likely to forget?

[algoatecorn]

I think there's just a statistically reliable number of people who will carry X balance at Y interest rate, and card companies use perks as product differentiation so they can attract more users. If the perks somehow get even more people to ignore their balances, that's just a bonus. At the end of the day the card companies are competing against each other.

[maerF0x0]

And credit card companies make money on usage -- they charge the retailer something like 3% on purchases meaning they make money on the transaction volume regardless of carried balance.