Great new scam!

[jainen]

I heard a great new scam in a radio ad today. Bank of America has a new credit card. Every time you buy something, it rounds the price up to the next dollar and puts the change into a savings account. That way, you pay interest for the convenience of giving them your money!

[Don B]

BoA does have a lot of little money making gimmicks. If a person has trouble saving money, this would help them. On the other hand they would have to pay off the
balance every month so that the interest on the card wouldn't exceed the interest earned on the savings account.

Hmm..most folks that pay off their balances each month don't usually have a problem of saving money.

[OldJack]

Ha!... That one slipped by me as I keep refusing to take their Visa card. I'm a Master Card user. Its amazing how many cheap tricks all the card companies keep coming up with. lol

[sea-tax]

I heard a great new scam in a radio ad today. Bank of America has a new credit card. Every time you buy something, it rounds the price up to the next dollar and puts the change into a savings account. That way, you pay interest for the convenience of giving them your money!

Are you sure it was for a credit card? I heard an ad similar to this but it was for a debit card. Basically B OF A would take all debit card transactions and round up to the nearest dollar and put the extra into your savings acct. Basically helping people save money by transferring money from checking into savings.

This idea I feel for most responsible adults who know how to save is a dumb idea. However how many times have you tried to explain to your client who is gettting a 8000 dollar refund that it is really their money, and that they could have potentialy gotten an extra 667 per month in cash flow. They always say I like the large amount it forces me to save , or I use it to pay for the family vacation.or what ever.

Just sad because it is usually those same people who rack up credit card debt to pay for monthly living expenses.

[taxmandan]

This idea I feel for most responsible adults who know how to save is a dumb idea. However how many times have you tried to explain to your client who is gettting a 8000 dollar refund that it is really their money, and that they could have potentialy gotten an extra 667 per month in cash flow. They always say I like the large amount it forces me to save , or I use it to pay for the family vacation.or what ever.

Just sad because it is usually those same people who rack up credit card debt to pay for monthly living expenses.

But that's the American way. Be happy, don't worry about tomorrow, your home value will keep rising and a re-fi will take care of all your problems!

Our area grocery stores are now asking at checkout if you want to round up to the next dollar and donate the extra to their favorite charity. Gee, do I get a receipt to deduct it on my taxes?

Daniel

[Don B]

However how many times have you tried to explain to your client who is gettting a 8000 dollar refund that it is really their money,.

Oh yea, a great way to save... especially when the interest kicks in (EITC, CTC etc.)

[ED SMITH]

Are you sure it was for a credit card? I heard an ad similar to this but it was for a debit card. Basically B OF A would take all debit card transactions and round up to the nearest dollar and put the extra into your savings acct. Basically helping people save money by transferring money from checking into savings.

Exactly! It is called 'Keep the Change' program. It's the electronic equivalent of the cookie jar, where you empty your pockets of spare change.

[Bees Knees]

Exactly! It is called 'Keep the Change' program. It's the electronic equivalent of the cookie jar, where you empty your pockets of spare change.

So they will pay you something like 1% interest on this "pocket change" that goes into the cookie jar, and then charge you 20% interest on the same amount if you do not pay off the balance due. Basically giving you a negative 19% interest rate on your savings account.

The sad part is, most people will think this is a good deal....

[sea-tax]

So they will pay you something like 1% interest on this "pocket change" that goes into the cookie jar, and then charge you 20% interest on the same amount if you do not pay off the balance due. Basically giving you a negative 19% interest rate on your savings account.

The sad part is, most people will think this is a good deal....

Bees as i stated before I think this from a check card or debit card. So the money comes from a checking acct. Say you by a value meal at MC D's and it come to 4.35 they will round up to five dollars and transfer the difference to your savings from your checking, Then they will pay you more like .25% or .5 % . Anyway you cut it if this is what our society needs to save then we are in for a lot of trouble.