WSJ: Rewards Credit Cards Gained a Fanatic Following—Now Banks Are Pulling Back
Major perks like airfare and cash back were meant to lead to higher returns. But consumers figured out how to game the systemBlake DiCioccio and her husband, Jason, flew around the world in business class in 2017, from San Francisco to Taipei, Tokyo to Belgrade, and Frankfurt back home. They didn’t pay for it. JPMorgan Chase & Co. did.
The ultra-premium rewards of the kind that JPMorgan has championed have turned into financial albatrosses. Big banks calculated that giant rewards would make consumers spend more, earning the banks more interest and boosting their returns. They calculated wrong.
Dear Valued
Customer,
Please understand
when we promise
premiums
you cannot
demand
that we actually
pay.
That's not what we
planned.
No, not at all.
It was really a
scam
to separate you
(aka “sucker”)
from more of your
cash.
But you, mother
fucker,
figured out how
to use our card
only whenever it
was to your benefit.
to use our card
only whenever it
was to your benefit.
That is
not fair.
Something our friend, the President,
now must repair.
Though, except for
Deutsch Bank,
we did not let him
borrow
having learned painfully
and to our sorrow
and to our sorrow
his word is
hollow.
But losses like these,
we cannot swallow.
Therefor, on him we place the onuses
of rigging rules
to protect bank exec bonuses.
When this is done
we will “say” thanks.
Yours in sincerity,
Fill In The Bank