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Question for the week
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Posted: 08/03/07 Earl received a check from our bank today for $9.25. It looked legit, but I decided to read the literature that came with it. Here is what I learned. It is indeed an honest-to-goodness check, no doubt about it. And cashing it makes the payee eligible for a two percent rebate on all future Chase credit card charges. The fine print noted, however, that the rebate is only on the first $5000 one charges in a given year. Doing the math means that the most a credit card holder would receive back is $100. Given that Earl and I have no problem charging $5000 annually on our credit card, first glance suggests we’re $109.25 ahead of the game. But wait! The finer print written on the back of the check reads: “By cashing this check I (meaning the payee) agree to a Trial Offer in ID Secure and understand that the $74.99 semi-annual fee will automatically be charged to my Chase credit card account unless I cancel my membership by calling 1-800-395-4057 before the end of the Trial Offer period.” What, I wondered, was ID Secure? The finest of fine print revealed it is a program offered by a company named Trilegiant, which isn’t even affiliated with Chase. So I went to the Internet and learned Trilegiant is a thirty-year old company that provides “high-value loyalty and affinity programs to the world’s leading finance service and retail companies.” Maybe I should be flattered that Chase values my loyalty, but frankly I’m disappointed in the sneaky way the company appears to be giving up $109.25 a year, so it can bill us $74.99 every six months. That’s $149.98 a year! In the grocery world the check and rebate are known as loss leaders. In banking, I’d call it something else.
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