Been playing the CC game for years. I'm not a pro, but I own 7, including a CSR which has served me well over the years.
But after all these years, looking at my points, I honestly wonder if any of this is really worth the effort. When you consider that, although you might be saving 5% with your Amazon Prime Visa, those savings could be wiped out by just buying one or two things you don't really need a year.
It seems to me that putting your attention on spending less would yield better results than placing it on maximizing rewards.
Or that investing the time spent looking for credit cards on better portfolio strategy, would also reward much more for anyone with at least $100k in stocks.
My secondary observation is that there's a reverse psychology when you get cash back: you get dopamine for spending money. Whereas using a simple debit card has a much more "visceral" feel: the money is coming out of the account, right now. It's almost more painful. Perhaps doing that, although it's not rewarding with cash backs, would promote more self-control when it comes to spending?
Anyway, there's probably a sweet spot where one gets a few credit cards that provide sweeping benefits without any effort, like: a basic travel card, a basic catch-all card, and maybe 1 or 2 specialized cards (Prime Visa, CostCo, etc).
Like 80% of the benefits for 20% of the time investment.
But that anything beyond that, all of the complex reward schemes, end up being a waste of precious time to at best make a few hundred dollars in rewards.
Prove me wrong? Am I missing something? Should I be spending much more time optimizing my credit card game?
Unpopular opinion: are credit card games a waste of time?
byu/mango89001 inCreditCards
Posted by mango89001
22 Comments
This is a common sentiment. The time value of this hobby is logarithmic. Luckily it is a hobby.
That’s on you.
I have 7 cards, I only need 5 for regular expenses. It’s dumb to spend more just for points, I spend what I have to spend on the cards, not just to rack points.
The game is for players who want to play it, that’s how games work
I’ll be honest man you can figure out an almost ideal set up in like less than a day of reading about the different cards that are available. Some people in the “credit card community” go mega minmax mode but that’s because it’s essentially a hobby for them and they usually admit it.
People argue about the “stress” of using the right card but if you’re not hobby tier you realistically don’t need to put that much thought into using one of five six or even ten cards depending on the set up
The problem here is youre exaggerating the opportunity cost of putting some minor effort into signing up for a few cards and using them and acting like this is costing people valuable time that would somehow earn them money via some other means when thats ridiculous. This is even more true with Cashback compared to points.
My low effort set up combined with churning earns me like 3k-4k a year.
“Spend less” is presumptuous and could dismiss basically anything.
I do sometimes wonder if I spent as much time bag chasing as I do optimizing my credit card rewards, if I would need credit card rewards at all, lol.
I’d say the credit card game is worth to play. Some credit cards offer perks and bonuses and they do wonders if they align with your life style. Sure theres a lot of nuisance to building a portfolio tailored to you but if you are financially responsible to pay back the card in full every month than you get cash back/travel gains you couldn’t get if you didn’t optimize your portfolio. At the end of the day it really just depends on yourself and if credit card strike your fancy
Seems worth it to me having all those points i rarely pay cash for a swa flight . As for the spending issue well thats up to the user im not into impulse purchases
If you don’t like to spend money, this hobby is for sure not the place for you. This is the case for a lot of people which is why they gravitate towards team cash back because they’re just trying to minimize spend anywhere they can. The majority of the users here are happy collecting $30-50/month in cash back to roll into their savings.
I don’t mind spending money, even in places that a lot of the users on team cash back would deem a waste of money. Thus, I am on team travel and since I have started playing the game, I have been able to travel significantly more because the cost of doing so has been cut down dramatically. I’m definitely addicted to the dopamine hit of getting new cards and hitting bonuses and stuff but I’m still being responsible financially and not throwing money around just to hit a bonus and I’m still saving money.
I think it’s a mix of balance and self control.
On the balance side, I think there is a happy medium between maximizing rewards and wasting time. I think a three card set up where you maximize 90% of rewards is ideal. I look at it this way. I make $60 an hour. Am I maximizing the equivalent to $60 an hour or greater? With a 3 card set up, sure. Anything more I think your ability to maximize is washed by the annual fees. There is nobody who can convince me someone can cover the annual fee on 10 cards with regular spending.
The self control side factors into it as well, and I don’t completely disagree with your point. If you spend more than you take in to get the most amount of cashback/points possible, credit cards are terrible for you. But IMO cashback/points is a reward I can spend on something I don’t need. It’s honestly why I do it. Little piggy bank that adds up so when I do want to take a trip with my wife or get a PS5, I can. It doesn’t take away from the family budget and it’s an opportunity for me to treat myself in a way I wouldn’t ordinarily do.
The problem with credit cards is people lack self control with them. It’s on area where I do agree with Dave Ramsey. For a majority of people in America, they should stay the fuck away from credit cards. There’s 10 posts a day here that are proof of it. But if you have self control and are responsible, credit cards are a phenomenal tool.
Most people here don’t fall into that reverse psychology trap you mentioned.
You can be responsible and spend less with hundreds of credit cards.
“Investing that time spent on a better portfolio strategy”
How much time do you need to do “low cost index fund and chill?”
It’s a waste of time if you have to spend a long time on maintenance to make it work. The best strategies are easy to manage without thinking about it. Some people are naturally able to juggle more cards at one time, so it varies by person.
It’s a hobby. If you like the hobby, keep doing it. If not, no big deal.
Do you have a budget and stick to it? If so, do what you want with credit card games
CC Cash Back programs aren’t “rewarding”, I’m trying to claw back the inflation on necessities. Using a debit card is not going to make these groceries and utilities any less expensive.
You are correct if you buy things you wouldn’t normally buy it defeats the purpose. I just use my Amex gold and Bilt palladium on everything I would normally buy which in return makes it worth it
Depends on what your goals are with CC cashback/points. For the travelers out there, you can absolutely get some insane value from points and go on trips that would otherwise be inaccessible. For cashback, seems like you’ll have to save it for a long time to get anything meaningful from it. For anyone who is not churning, you will take 10x as long to get any value from any of your cards.
You should always prioritize spending less over getting points. You shouldn’t get dopamine from spending more. You should get dopamine from saving more.
There is also not much work that goes into it. Use your credit cards and collect the points. It’s not anything complicated. It’s as simple as using your grocery credit card for groceries lol. The only real work is finding a redemption for the best value but you’re not doing that every day.
I don’t play rhe CC game, but every few years I check to see if anything new came out that’s better for the way we spend.
We only use cashback cards.
I only get cards that fit my lifestyle. I’m not gonna get a card for random credits or some shit just to spend on something I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have the card (looking at you AMEX).
I’m happy with my setup and I like the credit card game. I get useful perks and save a bunch of money per year on things I would’ve just bought on a regular debit card anyways. Why not get rewarded for those purchases? Lol.
> those savings could be wiped out by one or two things you don’t need per year.
Also why are you spending your points on random things you wouldn’t have bought. Lmfao what??
If you’re playing the game **correctly** then you’re not spending money needlessly or unnecessarily to get points or chase SUBs. The whole point of the game is to maximize your rewards earnings, be they cash back or points, **while spending organically**.
Team travel and still very frugal, the hobby got me out of budget airlines and hostels. I wouldn’t save enough for a business class or nice hotels from cashback being frugal on its own
To get the most out of credit cards, I think someone needs a moderately high income, an understanding of personal finance and a healthy relationship with money.
So if you have a budget, consistently save 20-25% of your income and you spend money intentionally, credit cards can be very powerful.
I would agree that for those who lack these basics, their attention is better directed towards the personal finance and also increasing their income.