Using Kiva to manufacture spend
Oct 29, 2015, 6:28 am
#136
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ORD, LAS
Programs: AA-EXP, BAEC Silver, Hyatt-Globalist, Hilton-gold, SPG-gold
Posts: 855
It seems irresponsible to make such a broad statement. There are plenty of lenders in Africa with very high Kiva ratings. Also, the purpose of Kiva is to give a chance to people who otherwise wouldnt qualify for traditional credit. There is risk but you can check the lenders rating and decide whether you want to support the borrower. Somethings effect repayments that cannot be helped like the typhoon in the Philipines or the Ebola crisis in Guinea and Sierra Leone. This may not convince you to lend again to any of the many countries that make up the continent of Africa, but I would like to recommend that others do their own research.
Jan 9, 2016, 12:43 pm
#137
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: MCO
Programs: AA 1MM, BA, UA, HH Dia, CC Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 795
I keep using it. Used it to MS the entire $1500 on my Discover card 5% 4Q cashback - I do this every year.
Also use it sometimes to complete minimum spendings for new cards (like, I'm missing $60 bucks, just make 3 loans and I'm done with it).
$12k lent over time (5+ years), less than $30 lost in defaults and currency exchange losses in all that time (Discover pays me $75 every year on Kiva loans, so profit overall).
Also use it sometimes to complete minimum spendings for new cards (like, I'm missing $60 bucks, just make 3 loans and I'm done with it).
$12k lent over time (5+ years), less than $30 lost in defaults and currency exchange losses in all that time (Discover pays me $75 every year on Kiva loans, so profit overall).
Sep 19, 2016, 9:38 pm
#139
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Seattle
Programs: SPG Platinum, HHonors Diamond, DL Diamond Medallion
Posts: 244
Sep 20, 2016, 7:34 am
#140
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: DC
Posts: 360
Still do it. The strength of the dollar has been making me losing some cash lately though. But overall still at a profit, even without counting the points. It's a shame that Discover stopped having "online purchases" as a category for the 4rd quarter.
810 loans and counting.
810 loans and counting.
Sep 20, 2016, 4:29 pm
#141
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Sep 20, 2016, 4:31 pm
#142
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
BTW, some regions are much better risks than others as are some categories of loans and borrowers. Have found collectives of women to be good risks, generally speaking.
Last edited by AlohaDaveKennedy; Sep 21, 2016 at 7:46 am
Sep 20, 2016, 5:17 pm
#143
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: mountains of western NC
Programs: Life, Love and Laughter
Posts: 8,537
Dec 26, 2016, 8:49 am
#144
Join Date: Dec 2014
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold
Posts: 1,073
Dec 26, 2016, 9:31 am
#145
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,745
Nov 24, 2017, 7:08 pm
#146
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 6
Do FTers Use Microlending for MS.
Just curious: do flyertalkers use any other microlenders for MS? Seems like no, but there are so many. (Here's a partial list meant for small businesses, so scroll down to skip the narrative for people who want to take out the loans.) I know it's a lot of work to figure out of an opportunity is going to be reliable, so before duplicating anything I wanted to ask.
Jan 12, 2018, 6:36 pm
#147
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 24
Just curious: do flyertalkers use any other microlenders for MS? Seems like no, but there are so many. (Here's a partial list meant for small businesses, so scroll down to skip the narrative for people who want to take out the loans.) I know it's a lot of work to figure out of an opportunity is going to be reliable, so before duplicating anything I wanted to ask.
Apr 19, 2018, 12:11 pm
#150
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,621
Here's my stats:
Started in Dec 2015.
Amount Lent: $9500
Amount Defaulted: $1.98
Amount of Currency Rate Loss: $0.21
Total losses: $2.19
$2.19 / $9500 = 0.0002305263158 or 0.023%.
US inflation for the same time period was 5.51%.
So, I've earned ~33,000 UR points for $2.19.
DO BE CAREFUL when choosing who you lend to. AVOID US loans. As I've posted elsewhere, credit is easier to get in the USA than buying beer. If traditional and even non-traditional lenders aren't willing to fund someone, you shouldn't either if you expect to get repaid. DO look at the lending partner's credentials. In general, I only lend to partners with 3* or better, 0.3% or less defaults.
My one and only default was a loan I kind of knew didn't stand a chance. Very high $ loan being taken out in a very poor country. I bought into it because I wanted to see them succeed whilst knowing they likely weren't going to be able to repay. Even so, $2.19 for 33k UR points. Find me a better deal out there.
Started in Dec 2015.
Amount Lent: $9500
Amount Defaulted: $1.98
Amount of Currency Rate Loss: $0.21
Total losses: $2.19
$2.19 / $9500 = 0.0002305263158 or 0.023%.
US inflation for the same time period was 5.51%.
So, I've earned ~33,000 UR points for $2.19.
DO BE CAREFUL when choosing who you lend to. AVOID US loans. As I've posted elsewhere, credit is easier to get in the USA than buying beer. If traditional and even non-traditional lenders aren't willing to fund someone, you shouldn't either if you expect to get repaid. DO look at the lending partner's credentials. In general, I only lend to partners with 3* or better, 0.3% or less defaults.
My one and only default was a loan I kind of knew didn't stand a chance. Very high $ loan being taken out in a very poor country. I bought into it because I wanted to see them succeed whilst knowing they likely weren't going to be able to repay. Even so, $2.19 for 33k UR points. Find me a better deal out there.