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Recently, MIT economists Hong Ru and Antoinette Schoar analyzed over a million credit card mailings collected by Mintel, a company that pays people to read their junk mail. The economists scanned the terms of these offers and noted the income and education levels of recipients. Now Jeff Guo writes in the Washington Post that if you want to know what credit card companies think of you, look at the junk mail you receive from credit card companies. Are you "pre-screened" for lots of mileage-reward cards? Banks think you're rich and educated. Do you mostly see offers for low-APR teaser rates? Banks think you're poor and uneducated — and, perhaps, vulnerable to financial traps.
Cards with travel rewards epitomize the kind of product aimed at the rich and educated. It's a fairly exclusive niche — only about 8 percent of credit card offers fall into this category. People in this demographic are the most likely to jet around, and therefore most likely to appreciate a card that will earn them frequent-flier miles. In contrast, the card offers sent to poorer, less-educated people were often loaded with risky features: low introductory APRs, high late fees, and penalty interest rates that kick in if you break the rules. Ru and Schoar believe that the system is tuned precisely to take advantage of those who make financial mistakes. "Backward loaded credit card features with high late fees can only be optimal [for companies] if customers do not understand their actual cost of credit," they write, using a term to describe arrangements that offer low upfront fees but higher penalty fees.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:19PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: 3, Touché) by dyingtolive on Friday October 23 2015, @08:22PM
Huh. Either I have my first fan, or more likely someone just finally got their spam bot working on the site.
If it's the later, kudos to you! Took you long enough.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday October 23 2015, @08:26PM
This is why no one should read at ZERO.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:28PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:29PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: 2) by SubiculumHammer on Friday October 23 2015, @08:29PM
Well, I often do, but I haven't had to deal with this much here.
Obviously, the prime suspect is the author of this submission :) too perfect. Damn you Hugh Pickens ! ;)
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:32PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:33PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Friday October 23 2015, @08:33PM
I mean, for those easily offended, yeah, I agree. On the other hand, someone's gotta mark all this crap as spam. I don't know if it'll make a difference, but it might help notice the abuse.
Ironically, _I_ have to wait to post this, while the madness continues. So it goes.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday October 23 2015, @08:44PM
On the other hand, someone's gotta mark all this crap as spam. I don't know if it'll make a difference, but it might help notice the abuse.
Our long suffering editors should have tools to ban the IP (and the entire /24) for this type of thing.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by dyingtolive on Friday October 23 2015, @08:47PM
Yeah, I just hit them up on IRC. They're on it.
Also, we have people running the site that were already aware of abuse and on it within the hour that it happened, and they aren't even owned by corporate overlords. You guys win. You got my subscription. Good job.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by Hyperturtle on Friday October 23 2015, @09:31PM
so... if you love moose wang... is that for fun or profit?
(Score: 3, Funny) by dyingtolive on Friday October 23 2015, @09:50PM
If I'm in a southern state, the locals regard it as art. :)
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday October 23 2015, @08:48PM
Once the ipid and subnetid hit -150 karma, at ten a pop, he was banned from further posting. Plus paulej72 put an entirely different kind of ban on as well.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @11:18PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday October 23 2015, @08:41PM
Zero? I read at -1 where only the brave and the bold go.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:42PM
Can we limit it to just comments lower than zero, that way I can wallow in scum?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday October 23 2015, @08:47PM
Zero? I read at -1 where only the brave and the bold go.
I'm not that brave.
I only go there when moderating, and only then when its clear from the replies that someone got modded to oblivion by the thought police.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday October 24 2015, @09:37AM
Some of us have to read at zero to effectively do our jobs here on the site, and there are also many good comments that start out with a zero score. If nobody ever read them, they would never get modded up and become viewable by anybody else if we all follow your logic.
We do remarkably well at avoiding SPAM and trolls - so much so that, when one appears, it usually garners more attention than it deserves, IMHO.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:26PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23 2015, @08:27PM
Do you suck dicks for fun or profit?
(Score: 2) by Hyperturtle on Friday October 23 2015, @09:06PM
Man I hate to break it to you... but I think he's cheating on us.