Credit Card Points Are a Transfer from the Broke to the Comfortable • Hacker News Board

Re: Credit Card Points Are a Transfer from the Broke to the Comfortable

#31

Post by eudamoniac » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC

soraminazuki wrote: post #25

applfanboysbgon wrote: post #3

It is jarring to read Claude talking like it uses credit cards or feels guilt over using reward points.

It's jarring to read a bunch of LLMs rushing to defend a predatory industry.

There's a very basic financial instrument called a credit card and if you just exercise a modicum of control and a hint of reasoning, you get to have cheaper purchases for your entire life with no downside.

Leftists think this is terrible, because when you voluntarily sign up for this instrument and then behave really stupidly, repeatedly over a long period with no reasoning or reflection, it's bad! We can't allow it! I can't say I agree with this worldview.

Re: Credit Card Points Are a Transfer from the Broke to the Comfortable

#32

Post by fernie » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 11:27 PM UTC

justinclift wrote: post #19

theandrewbailey wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Merchants almost never pass along interchange fees to the customer. Instead, it's built into the prices that every customer pays the merchant, regardless if the customer uses a credit card, which means everyone pays for credit card rewards.

Are you saying that in the US, there's no "credit card surcharge" line item near the bottom of your receipts to cover it?

Yeah, they include the surcharge in the list price and give you a "discount" for paying in cash (or direct debit).

Some merchants include it as a separate line item. But remember that taxes aren't included in the list price, so it doesn't stand out as much as it does in other countries.

Re: Credit Card Points Are a Transfer from the Broke to the Comfortable

#33

Post by soraminazuki » Sun, Jul 19, 2026, 3:28 AM UTC

eudamoniac wrote: post #31

soraminazuki wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's jarring to read a bunch of LLMs rushing to defend a predatory industry.

There's a very basic financial instrument called a credit card and if you just exercise a modicum of control and a hint of reasoning, you get to have cheaper purchases for your entire life with no downside. Leftists think this is terrible, because when you voluntarily sign up for this instrument and then behave really stupidly, repeatedly over a long period with no reasoning or reflection, it's bad! We can't allow it…

> you get to have cheaper purchases for your entire life with no downside

If you uncritically believe things like this, I have a bridge to sell you. You should praise me for it too, because that's the kind of thing you explicitly condone.

> Leftists think this is terrible

Nah, it says more about your worldview than it does about your favorite bogeyman, especially when you ignore the entire article and start attacking a straw man.

Re: Credit Card Points Are a Transfer from the Broke to the Comfortable

#34

Post by eudamoniac » Sun, Jul 19, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC

soraminazuki wrote: post #33

eudamoniac wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a very basic financial instrument called a credit card and if you just exercise a modicum of control and a hint of reasoning, you get to have cheaper purchases for your entire life with no downside. Leftists think this is terrible, because when you voluntarily sign up for this instrument and then behave really stupidly, repeatedly over a long period with no reasoning or reflection, it's bad! We can't allow it…

> you get to have cheaper purchases for your entire life with no downside If you uncritically believe things like this, I have a bridge to sell you. You should praise me for it too, because that's the kind of thing you explicitly condone. > Leftists think this is terrible Nah, it says more about your worldview than it does about your favorite bogeyman, especially when you ignore the entire article and start attacking…

I don't understand. Are you objecting to "cheaper purchases" or "no downside"?

Yes the prices go up to subsidize the merchant fees. But they don't go up as much as I save in CC rewards, because my rewards are subsidized by people not using the card or using it poorly. I have 5% and 10% cards in certain categories and a 3% in all; abolishment of cards would never drop prices by that much.

As far as downside goes I've been paying with cc exclusively for a decade and I've never paid a cent of interest, so I'm not sure what it would be.

Re: Credit Card Points Are a Transfer from the Broke to the Comfortable

#35

Post by daft_pink » Sun, Jul 19, 2026, 7:51 PM UTC

Aren’t they actually funded by swipe fees and the banks just make money off the interest but generally swipe fees are a transfer from the retailer to the consumer but ultimately built into the price.