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A recent episode of “The Ramsey Show” featured a heated discussion over credit card use that sparked strong opinions from co-hosts George Kamel and Rachel Cruze.
Miguel, a caller from Dallas, said he pays off his credit cards every month in full and uses the points to fund family travel. He told the hosts he hasn’t had any credit card debt in over a decade and recently used rewards to cover $4,000 in flights for a family trip to Europe.
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“I use my credit cards for everything… that doesn’t charge me a fee,” Miguel said.
Kamel acknowledged Miguel’s discipline but pushed back: “Is it okay? Sure. If it’s working for you, go for it. But the reason you called in, there’s something inside of you that’s maybe thinking, is there a better way?”
At one point, Kamel asked, “How much did you have to spend in order to earn that many rewards?” Miguel estimated it was likely a “couple hundred grand” over a few years. “There we go. Ding, ding, ding,” said Kamel. “So, Miguel, the truth is you could have saved up four grand out of a few hundred grand that slipped through your hands.”
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He questioned whether the rewards were worth the potential overspending. “Let’s say you spent $200,000 to get $4,000. That’s 2% cashback,” he said. “Use your debit card for a year and see if you spent 190 grand instead of 200. Well, that just saved you 10 grand.”
Cruze took a firmer stance, pointing to behavioral studies showing people spend more when using credit cards. “Because there is zero emotional connection to your money, subconsciously, without even realizing it, you end up spending more.”
She also brought up the moral side of the issue. “What is so frustrating to me is that these banks and this whole debt industry have screwed over the American people,” Cruze said. “They have not helped people. They have hurt people. That’s why we have a job.”
Cruze added, “The people that are hurting—the single moms with $11,000 in credit card debt—they’re the ones making the bank rich to get people like you to get free points and free flights. I don’t want a free flight out of that.”
