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My bank teller called me out on overusing my rewards card and I still think about it
I was at a Chase branch in downtown Austin maybe 8 months ago, just depositing a check. This older teller, maybe 60, glanced at my account and said 'You know you're leaving about $40 a month on the table by not using a cash back card for your groceries instead of those airline points.' I laughed it off at first, told her I liked the miles for trips. But she pulled up a printout right there and showed me that over a year, my spending on groceries alone would net me almost $500 cash back versus maybe $300 in points after fees. I had never even thought about it that way. It stuck with me because she wasn't trying to sell me anything, just had a real opinion. Has anyone else had a bank employee give them solid advice that went against the popular play?
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benc5315d ago
$40 a month is like $480 a year... is that really life changing money for anyone? I mean sure it's nice but people act like this teller dropped some kind of financial secret on them. I've run the numbers on my own setup and the airline points still work better for how I travel, especially since I don't have any annual fee on mine. It kind of feels like people get caught up in the drama of the moment and oversell how much difference it actually makes.
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troythompson15d ago
Man, that's a great story! It reminds me of something that happened to a buddy of mine. He was always bragging about his credit card rewards and how he was getting free flights left and right. Anyway, he went into his local bank to open a savings account for his kid, and the teller just casually asked him what card he used for his everyday spending. My buddy told him, and the teller shook his head and said, "You're losing money on that thing." He pulled up a calculator and showed him that after the annual fee and the way the points devalued, a simple 2% cash back card would net him way more. My buddy switched that week, and now he's always telling people the same thing. It's wild how a random person behind a counter can change your whole way of thinking about money.
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