I definitely do not have a business head. In fact, over the last year I have felt slightly lost when having to make any major decisions. As examples, whether or not to buy or lease a car, whether or not to change insurance companies as the prices have climbed through the roof, should I go away or wait for a seat sale? I have found it much more difficult and in many cases am more at ease with making as few changes as possible.
Yet one of the things that I am most puzzled about is the credit card business. It is not as if I am completely a nerd and I do know that it is a good idea to rack up credit card points for travel, etc, but I innocently have basically two credit cards. I have had the same ones for several years. Our greatest concern used to be to make sure that the card we had covered cancellation and health insurance when traveling as well as the insurances necessary to rent a car. Otherwise, as many know, the first question the rental car company asks is whether or not you want to buy insurance. I can tell everyone from having been in the travel business for many years that those companies are making a fortune on selling insurance to you.
According to the future MBAs of the yeshiva world, young bochurim I know well, it is necessary to keep changing your credit cards in order to accrue more points. And if you are smart enough to have others sign up and use your name as a reference, you get even more points on a new card. I thought that having so many credit cards and opening and closing them all the time spoiled a person’s credit rating, but the “experts” say that is not true. So the dilemma I had was how it was possible for so many people to be traveling to the most common or even the most exotic places and never having to pay anything for their trips! When I innocently asked a grandson who spends his time learning how he can afford to be leaving for Spain this week with his wife and child, I received the usual answer: “In this case, it cost us $5 for the entire trip.”
As I said to some close friends, I have begun to believe that inside some seforim placed on shtenders in various yeshivas are copies of “How To Get The Most Out of Your Credit Card.” It seems as if everyone knows about these things except for me. The air is free, the hotels are on points; I just don’t get it.
I decided to play detective and began looking into the “latest” deal on a credit card. The Chase Ink is the way to go, I was told. I looked and noticed that the card is a business card. Unless there is something about me that I do not know, I believe I do not have a business. No problem, I was told; I am a proprietor. Since I know how prevalent the use of credit cards are with the intent of using them for perks, I actually made the attempt to ask a shaila today: Was I actually able to get a card because I am a proprietor (I guess of my house)? Unfortunately, I was not able to get through to the rav I had called.
I know how many people are using cards, and understand the points they accrue legally and eagerly. They deserve to as they spend so many thousands of dollars on their families and everyday expenses. What I wonder is if we are catching up with the regular world in terms of deviousness and dishonesty. I really do not know. Perhaps it is better for me to just live my life with my head down, doing what I believe is the right thing to do and not allowing myself to wonder if all of these perks found in gemaras come with heterim that perhaps we should all know about.
Nina Glick can be reached at [email protected]
