News notes from around the interweb:
- 3.1 million people now have the Apple Card but I still wonder why.
- Customs officer, carrying his government-issued weapon, was arrested at the Atlanta airport with 18kg of cocaine in in carry on bags.
- Say what? Cathay Pacific actually earned a profit in the second half of last year even as conditions were challenging for them amidst widespread protests.
- Free upgrade on Heathrow Express for Star Alliance Golds
- Airline cleaners say they lack the equipment or training to properly clean planes
- Full cost of Boeing 737 MAX problems up to $18.7 billion
So Gary 3.3 million card holders getting 2% back, on average, is this a better “spend” than say a Sapphire card in points ? Can you opine on that ? A question I have been asking myself.
It’s 3.1 million.
And there are a lot of interesting things in that article, like over a third of Americans have a Capitol One card!
So 3.3M are interested in the card, that makes 3.3M less interested in the cards I use. Plus that’ll keep cards working to attract business with new offers. So the loss of 3.3M is my gain!
Well, as a participant of these credit card games for years, here’s my perspective.
Most cards are eliminating many of the more valuable benefits, airlines are devaluing points.
Rather than keep track of 27 cards and which to use where, it’s really gotten a lot simpler. Some specific spend is for the 3-5 point categories like dining and travel, but the rest? Applecard has 2% cash back on all contactless spend and ApplePay online spend. Cash. Combined with no fees and low interest for those that like that. I still have a dozen cards, but more than half of them are in a drawer. CSR/AX Plat + Apple generally covers everything without having to spend any time at all figuring out where to put your spend and how to get the rewards out. Use a Freedom card for non-contactless payments.