Being one of the most successful bloggers I know, I thought it might be fun for me to start a series of posts on Blogging to help the masses make more money, and quit that crappy job. It goes without saying that if you pepper your posts with less than 30 links you are probably leaving something on the table, so let’s assume you young bucks have ‘got that’, and move to the fun stuff!
Let’s start out with a look at how to present a scientific experiment as an impartial ‘expert’ and improve your conversion rate in the process. I recently spoke about the Citi DoubleCash card and how I have reservations about its ability to provide a true 2% cash back. Truthfully, even having spoken with Citi I don’t know for sure how this card will rebate purchases. Let’s use this again as a case study for our class today.
How to increase perceived value
It’s all about manipulating the benchmark. They do it a lot in financial services – match up a fund that has a very high risk profile with mediocre performance for that, and compare it with with something that is much safer, but returns lower. When it comes to converting those credit cards you simply have to vastly exaggerate the annual spend.
Looking back, The Points Guy decided to select $20,000 in non bonus spend each year. People see $20,000 and think ‘yeah, that is possible to spend’ but slipping in the non bonus spend aspect is huge! Fantastic work, take heed grasshopper!
Let’s think about what $20,000 non – category spend means…
It means None of the following:
- Groceries (Amex Blue, old 5%)
- Gas (Amex Blue, old 5%)
- Drug Stores (Amex Blue, old 5%)
- Flights (CSP/Cobranded airline 2x)
- Transport (CSP 2x)
- Dining Out (CSP 2x)
- Cell Phone (Ink 5x)
- Internet (Ink 5x)
- Rent/Mortgage
So what’s left after all that is out of a budget? Utilities is one, but you have the Arrival and the Fidelity Amex, which leaves..I guess shoe shopping? One reader mentioned Sams Club no longer took Amex. We just went to a competitor of Sams Club and bought a TON of things, I think our bill came out to be $240, including lots of long term products (bulk dog food, frozen items,etc). We won’t need to go back for a good while, but lets imagine we are spending $240 per month, and we couldn’t spend on our Amex card!
So let’s pretend for a moment that there is nothing fishy about the Citi DoubleCash card, if I had it with me here I would net $4.80 in rebates, or $57.60 per year. Doesn’t quite have the sizzle of $20,000 is worth $400 in cash back!!! Does it? The other thing we need to avoid at times like this is a memory.
The Goldfish Technique
This is great for talking about ‘hot deals’ if you keep forgetting what you spoke about yesterday (or heck, even earlier in the day if you are a multi-poster Go You!!) this is a wonderful thing if you like to sell things like the SPG Amex – the card offers effectively 1.25x air miles, so if you write that post where you value American Airlines Miles at 1.5cents each, they multiply that by 1.25 we have 1.875 cents of value here. Lets not talk about that though.
Oh, later on its fine. You can also talk about how earning 1.25 BA Avios per dollar is amazing value because you get 4 cents per point from them, BUT NOT NOW! There is a time and a place for everything, and let’s not confuse the reader. The last thing we want them doing is calculating 240×1.25 for 300 Avios and deciding that it sounds pretty neat… that ain’t going to shift inventory folks!
Remember, if you get any challenges, the best that people can do is throw out a 1.5% card, because we have the Amex trick for discounting the Fidelity, and the difference between a 1.5% card and a 2% card is $750 per year to the reader!
Assuming an average annual spend of $150,000 in non category areas.
What is the “amex trick for discounting Fidelity”?
You just say nowhere takes it, like when you live on the moon.
You keep saying this, and you should really meet our favorite Vietnamese place and our vet, who don’t take Amex. Then buy your wife a purse at Matt & Nat, who also don’t. And that’s just off the top of my head.
Yep I’m a broken record. So say you aren’t using your CSP at the restaurant , and add up the all the vet bills for a yeah, then times that by .5% how much money are we talking?
You spiking the baby bottles and drinking them yourself or something? Hilarious post.
It’s been one of those days 🙂
You forgot the affiliate links. Also, you stripped out the template header. How are we supposed to know how to number the templates?
Your post needs more links and more diagrams with arrows. I can’t think for myself. Thanks in advance.
Please email me your SSN and I will take care of you
I’m sure there are plenty of places that don’t take Amex, but I never run into them.
BTW, the Green Mill in Chicago only takes American Express (or cash, of course). Random but true.
I find that many vendors I rely on do not accept Amex, especially small businesses. For example, we recently had a $7,000 heat pump installed by a local HVAC outfit. They accepted only VISA or MasterCard. When we travel, we leave our dog in a $45 per day kennel. Same story. Medical and veterinary expenses — no Amex. Bed and breakfasts or small independent hotels often don’t accept Amex.