Why take a payday loan when you can do manufactured spending?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: JRF
Programs: AA Gold, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond, National Executive Elite
Posts: 1,779
Why take a payday loan when you can do manufactured spending?
Ever think of using MS as an alternative to a payday loan? I don't use it per se, but if you think about it, MSing something is effectively delaying payment for a month or more. So why don't people buy gift cards and load their BlueBird/Serve/RedBird, etc instead of using payday loans and paying outrageous rates/fees?
#2
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 274
Ever think of using MS as an alternative to a payday loan? I don't use it per se, but if you think about it, MSing something is effectively delaying payment for a month or more. So why don't people buy gift cards and load their BlueBird/Serve/RedBird, etc instead of using payday loans and paying outrageous rates/fees?
People who often use payday loan isn't eligible for a credit card due their bad credits. Even if they had credit cards, they would already be taking out cash advances!
#3
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,691
I would guess the overlap of folks capable of doing MS and those who need a payday loan is small to non-existent. It seems to me that most folks MSing are those with above average incomes and with the mindset to to exploit the financial system not be exploited by it. There are some exceptions at least to the income because I have seen some mention of students/recent graduates MSing but on the whole these appear to be two nearly completely different groups of individuals.
#4
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
those who resort/become preys to payday loans have either maxed out their CCs or are in a financial bind. And even if they can, if they bought GCs, they'd likely go on a shopping spree without realizing they have to pay the CCs they used to buy them.
#5
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
Ever think of using MS as an alternative to a payday loan? I don't use it per se, but if you think about it, MSing something is effectively delaying payment for a month or more. So why don't people buy gift cards and load their BlueBird/Serve/RedBird, etc instead of using payday loans and paying outrageous rates/fees?
I wager 98% don't have the time (between work and life) to run around buying gift cards, or are uneducated, lacking skills required to juggle all the details, or don't have any credit at all.
#6
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,298
Credit cards themselves are payday loans....I guess some/most places you can't pay rent on a CC so there's that. But as mentioned, the only people by in large intelligent enough to understand the basics of MS and yet still find themselves in a financial bind are college kids.
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Madison, WI, USA
Posts: 14,162
Also, the basics of MS aren't exactly rocket science. It's the bother of doing it that stops most people.
#8
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: some premium cabin...
Posts: 389
Ah...MS and Payday loan just doesn't belong in the same sentence. I do MS to travel the world and I pay off my credit card before the statement closes. As many of you have mentioned, it's a different demographics we are talking about.
#9
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,298
Well disregardless, for all intensive purposes, it's hard to MS if you can't get approved for a credit card like us top notch English majors.
#10
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
it's hard to MS if you can't get approved for a credit card
with activation fees for most GCs used for MS, that can stack up to huge amounts depending on volume of MS one does. for this reason, it takes money to make money/miles/points.
#12
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,207
surprised no one has mentioned what happens when you have a problem with the card you bought and you have no money to pay it back while waiting for the situation to get resolved (sometimes up to 4+ months!). What do you do then, just ms more? Get your financials in order, have discretionary fund, and then come back to us.
#13
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 103
Due to my current unique employment / financial situation, I've successfully used my rewards CCs and various MS techniques to pay my tuition for my graduate program, and have been gradually paying down the balance each time I "balance transfer" by MSing on various cards. I'm not proud of it, and obviously would have preferred to pay in-full, upfront if that had been possible. My employer reimburses around 65% of tuition costs, so I will be receiving that money later this month (once I show them that my C's really do get degrees) to finish paying off my initial tution charges. I understand the risks involved with doing this, but so far this has been a wonderful opportunity for me to earn miles and cashback while managing my own short-term payment plan (<4 months) for tution that I would not normally be able to afford upfront.
Not exactly a payday loan, but I just wanted to share an example of a situation where MS can be useful in more than just earning miles / points.
Not exactly a payday loan, but I just wanted to share an example of a situation where MS can be useful in more than just earning miles / points.
#14
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: a hotel room, somewhere...
Posts: 962
like a baby. making noise. don't know what to do. stupid. ignorant like a child..
the fact that such a thread even exists is emblematic of the downward spiral of FT:
business people/road warriors-> leading edge professional types-> bow tie and Emily types-> mommypoints-> students living off MS-> unemployed living off MS-> the indigent.
and this is the army of ahem... 'peers' who are out there saying and doing the wrong thing every day. think early scene in Avatar when the blue monkey is chastising Jake 'you're like like a baby. making noise. don't know what to do. stupid. ignorant like a child..'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9P5L3W_oQc
business people/road warriors-> leading edge professional types-> bow tie and Emily types-> mommypoints-> students living off MS-> unemployed living off MS-> the indigent.
and this is the army of ahem... 'peers' who are out there saying and doing the wrong thing every day. think early scene in Avatar when the blue monkey is chastising Jake 'you're like like a baby. making noise. don't know what to do. stupid. ignorant like a child..'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9P5L3W_oQc