News and notes from around the interweb:
- A third of consumers with credit files had debts in collection last year. This game is not for you unless you pay off your cards in full each month, and don’t cause yourself to spend more than you otherwise would.
- Delta really is offering a robust inflight product these days. I love that, not that I want to fly Delta, but because it makes it hard for American to adopt US Airways-style soft product standards as those two carriers merge.
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia struck down rules that prohibited pharmacy patients in the province from earning points on non-government funded pharmacy prescriptions.
- The hotel food delivery scam
- Visiting Thailand? Some provinces are beginning to enforce the rule that foreigners carry valid ID with them at all times. So be sure to bring your passport if you head to a beach outside your resort..
- Not sure what it is about American service to Haiti. They’re adding a second destination there, Northern coast city Cap-Haitien from Miami. American serves Port-au-Prince from both Miami and the unlikely Fort Lauderdale, and both Port-au-Prince flights are exception markets to provide meals despite their short distance.
- Virgin Atlantic made an emergency landing to save a passenger when some of his $67,000 worth of swallowed cocaine burst in his stomach. The passenger lived, and was fined a mere $800.
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It’s not really the “hotel food delivery scam,” it’s the “fake menu under the door we’re going to steal your credit card when you order scam.”
Thanks for the link.
Sometimes you hear the credit agencies mention that the average credit score (Nationwide) is much higher than reality. This is my opinion. Seeing that 33% of consumers had a debt item in collections makes this even more interesting. I found this little snippet.
“Currently, the national average credit score is 736 (as of December 2013). That value is based on research conducted by Experian and is calculated using the VantageScore system
According to what I have seen 736 Vantage=Prime Plus score B. Somehow I think that estimate is too high. Especially in light on this recent stat. This is why I think the card offers have to keep coming. There is only a small subset of consumers that can even get approved, and many people who have decent scores dont see a need for additional cards or think additional cards will hurt their credit.
Rob
I have this odd love for my US Passport card. I got it because I enjoy cruiseships and like a waterproof extra ID on hand for shore excursions. I can see where it would be handy in Thailand as well.
I like AA launching extra service into Haiti. They need all the help they can get. The roads are so bad there that it takes forever to get up to the north shore so this should help. I can’t imagine the demand is there though?
Everyone with a cellphone is in collections now. LOL.
Really, if everyone needs a loan, it’s because they:
1) Don’t have any money, and will never have that money.
2) Need a loan to make money.
I’ll wager those “playing the game” are making minimum payments now. Have fun, Conrads are 80K now, not 30K. And to get those points, it’s a minimum spend of $3000.00, not $1.00.
Ignore those BS terms “it will affect your ability to get a job, to get an apartment, etc.” All lies. Machines are doing jobs and sitting in first class….that’s why all the programs are devaluing to ObamaLevels.
The Haiti flights are among American’s most profitable. It’s one of the most popular destinations in the world for (both religious and non-relogious) humanitarian aid work and a majority of the flights have at least a couple of large groups on board. The cargo holds on those flights are even more profitable – I’m told that Haiti was one of the main reasons the A300 remained in service as long as it did because of its ability to hold containerized freight.
A lively discussion of the Thailand visa situation is here: http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/thailand-about-to-be-less-friendly.94326/