I would love to help you out and sign up, but I already have an REI card. Use it exclusively for gear purchases, pay it off every month, and enjoy the refund every March.
Good luck on your fund raising and I hope you have a great hike!
(BTW, US Bank has done good by me in the few years I have had the card. I had a couple of purchases that weren't mine and they credited the amounts back right away and I had a new card within a week.)
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Someone needs to lighten up here. It's only "servitude" if you spend beyond your budget and/or don't pay your bills. If you think you'll abuse the credit card, then don't get it. If one were considering applying for an REI Visa, using Alpine Bomber's referral number costs neither you nor REI anything - it comes from US Bank (and their customers who carry balances).
Besides if you really wanted to put it to US Bank, get the card, get the $100 gift card, and pay your bills in full each month. Sure, they'll get transaction fees from the merchants when you use the card, but the big money is made in monthly interest charges - and its easy to avoid those.
Well, that's one way to get some of that bail out money back....I'm down!
Maybe this should be linked to the good reads thread that is going. But, maybe those worried about the use of credit should read Dave Ramsey. He is an advocate of debt-free living. Credit (credit cards) is a tool. It can be used wisely or poorly.
On another level, this thread has been quite entertaining. Really, "financial servitude"? 1%ers? I love the hysteria.
Lonehiker (MRT '22)
I use credit cards for almost every single purchase and get paid to do so due to Discover Card's 1% rebate. I have had credit cards for over 20 years and have never paid a dime in interest. But people need someone or something to blame for their own lack of self control in money matters, obesity, smoking, etc.. the list goes on.
HST/JMT August 2016
TMB/Alps Sept 2015
PCT Mile 0-857 - Apr/May 2015
Foothills Trail Feb 2015
Colorado Trail Aug 2014
AT: Rockfish Gap to Boiling Springs 2014
John Muir Trail Aug/Sept 2013
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AT 2x, LT, JMT, CT, Camino, Ireland Coast to Coast, HWT, WT, NET, NST, PCT
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.
When I first saw this thread, I had a very negative reaction being completely anti-credit card/debt. It appeared to me that you were actually being audacious enough to ask people to open credit card accounts for your benefit. "NO COMMENT" was the order of my day.
But I've followed, and considered, and I choose to believe that what's going on here is that you are simply notifying members that the offer exists, and if they were interested in it, AND GOING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT ANYWAY, could they please use your code so that one of their fellow WB members might also benefit.
I don't know for a FACT that this was your thinking, but in my rose-colored world it is what I will furthermore choose to believe.
Good Luck then.
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
I charge everything possible for cash back.... All of our insurance, medical, groceries, utilities, etc. If you can charge it, I charge it. Makes record keeping simple too.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred - 6% cash back on groceries
PenFed Cash Rewards Visa - 5% cash back on gas
Fidelity Amex - 2% cash back on everything
Capital One Quicksilver - 1.5% cash back on everything (use if Amex isn't accepted.)
In 2013 I got back $1867 in cash rewards.... That's about $156 a month.
I would not get a credit card that was limited to 1 store or didn't give cash rewards.
Credit is a great tool if you're disciplined and can pay off the balance each month.
Hello again everyone, although I'm attempting to not respond to every post that that isn't positive to avoid a good old internet battle :P, I would like to clarify a few things. I have been a wb member for years, and value and love this community. I spent a good amount of time considering whether or not it was ethical for me to post this. In the end I decided to because I legitimately think this is tool that could help a lot people save money while financing their hikes. Notice I posted in a forum for thru-hikes still in planning mode, not on the main forums where it would get the most traffic. Over the course of the last 3 years, since my first thru attempt I've spent over 2000 dollars on gear. Granted, I didn't get the cheapest gear on the market, but most people don't. 5% back out of 2000 dollars adds up quickly, and so i genuinely believe that this is helpful to people even beyond the 100 dollar gift card. Yes, I am absolutely benefiting, but I can tell you I'm not getting close to 100 dollar gift card for each of these. company policy dictates I can't post how much I get, but it's not even half what the applicant gets. Therefore, I decided that White Blaze is an appropriate place for a post like this, and at the same time I fully understand why people disagree with that. I was on the fence about it myself. I apologize if you feel that it doesn't belong here.
As far as how credit cards impact credit history, it is true that inquiries and more cards lower your score, but if that card is paid off responsibly it will raise your score, so over the course of a few months you're building credit, not hurting it. That said, getting a credit card is a big decision and many factors influence whether or not getting one is a good financial move for someone. Please don't get one if you doubt it will help you.
Thank you for everyone's support. Oh, and I was long distance hiker long before I was an REI employee!
So, has anyone signed up for one of these cards yet or is it too early to tell? At least all this discussion has kept the subject alive for you. Otherwise, it would have just disappered into the general noise as soon as it was posted.
Anyway, the way this site works with the daily post listing, it really doesn't matter what forum you initally post in, although some forums have stricter rules about the kind of responses which can be given. Humm, maybe there should be a financial forum for these kinds of things, seeing that it is a popular subject...
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$25. When I worked at REI, that's how much employees got for REI Visa sign ups. So it's not much, but it helps. (This was several years ago, but I doubt it's much more than that now.) It's a good deal, in my opinion, as long as you manage your credit card debt wisely.
Last edited by QHShowoman; 02-22-2014 at 00:18.
you left to walk the appalachian trail
you can feel your heart as smooth as a snail
the mountains your darlings
but better to love than have something to scale
-Girlyman, "Hold It All At Bay"
Why not just start a thread and beg for money. Most of us work hard and save money as we can to fund our trips. This seems like someone looking for a hand-out. Even hobos work for any funds or food they receive.
what about those fund raising sites such as fundme.com or gofundme.com