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Comment by TylerE | Hacker News Reader

Amazon card is a good option. 5% cashback on Amazon purchases (and often with "no interest if paid within 12 months" type terms on stuff like TVs. 2% on gas and 1% on everything else. Cashback accrues in practically real time and is useable on 99% of products on Amazon, so it's very normal-person friendly as it doesn't require optimization of habits if you already buy a lot of stuff on the 'zon. Super simple since it just rewards flat dollars, no points or annual thresholds or loyalty programs or...

Also doesn't require the insanely good credit of the Apple card.

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Yikes. I know it's just an example, but how often do "normal" people buy TVs?

I gave up videogames because I didn't want to spend so much time in my head like that (I'll still gladly play tabletop games with other people, and even couch-coop videogames if I'm invited too, but I gave away my gaming PC), and I sure don't want to spend time fiddling with credit-card points games. It helps that we're mostly unhooked from "retail therapy" or whatever the term is these days.

What are the costs of cc points games? Who pays in the long run?

A TV specifically? Maybe once a decade. But, what if it's a new computer, or a new couch, or whatever? Substantially more often. Their minimum threshold is only $250, although items are specifically elibile, not automatic. They'll happily do the 12 month deal on a $399 iPad mini, for instance, just to name one thing I spot checked).

> Who pays in the long run?

People who only use cash for in-person transactions for privacy reasons. :(

Does Amazon see your activity outside of what you spend at their store?

I don't believe so. The actual card is managed by Chase, payments go through the Chase website, etc. Amazon just links to it and updates your reward balance nightly.

Note that it's better if you don't apply rewards points at checkout - instead, get a payout to your bank account via the Chase reward redemption portal in the app. If you have $100 in rewards points, and use them in checkout, that $100 doesn't hit your card and you don't get the 5% cashback on that $100.

Technically you don't even need to loop through the bank account, you can also do statement credit. It doesn't count against your minimum payment, but it does count as a credit/payment towards the statement balance.

But yes, always charge the full amount and then handle rewards at a lower layer, never "pay with points".

Isn't this optimizing for 5% of 5%? e.g. 1/400?

Sure, to get $100 in rewards you'd need to have spent $2,000. It's not life-changing but $5 is still something, and I imagine Chase/Amazon save >1 million a year from people not doing this.

It sounds like you're guessing here...

Anyone without access to the entire source code of Amazon is.

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