Are you really that gullible?
Of course not, but they think you are!
Credit card companies are certainly welcome to advertise their products, I don’t have a problem with that.
However, this commercial puts a big HUGE spotlight on their little rewards program without explaining what you are really getting: Debt.
It’s so misleading that it made me really mad and I needed to do something. Here is the commercial with the REAL story behind their “perceived” benefit:
*Note: I apologize for the sound quality. I recorded this off the TV with my iPhone.
As you can tell, this commercial made me super-mad.
Their message is the equivalent of getting you to buy a $1.00 box of Cracker Jacks for a $.01 prize.
Actually, it’s WORSE! At least with the purchase of Cracker Jacks you also get a snack!
The only real difference between one credit card and another should be the interest rate. Anything else is a gimmick to get you to sign up for their debt product. If you pay off the card every month then the end result is the same: No debt. However, miss one payment or fail to pay the balance in full and they gotcha: You are paying interest.
Don’t get distracted by the shiny objects in commercial. Pay attention to the real product or service before signing up for any financial product and call me if you want help figuring it out.
If you are mad about misleading messages too then share this with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Google plus.
I cannot believe that there are still people out there who completely buy into this idea that points or miles are such a great benefit to having a credit card. But…there are still plenty of people out there who are looking for new and exciting ways to justify their use of credit and overspending. That’s why your message continues to be so important, Steve.
Thanks Chris. I’m glad you are a Debt Freedom Fighter like me!
I’ve personally received well over $5,000 in credit card rewards over the last decade and paid $0 in interest or fees.
Those rewards helped me to, among many other things, pay for a flight to be with my mom while she had surgery for cancer and go on a honeymoon with my beautiful wife.
Next on the docket is a trip to Europe and the flights will be paid for with credit card rewards.
Yes Kevin, but how much money did you have to filter through your credit cards to “earn” those rewards?
More importantly, would the average American have the income and ability to always pay the cards off?
This commercial only talks about buying some donuts and getting to Miami. There’s much more to it than that, which is why I felt it important to expose the rest of the story to my readers/viewers/listeners.