From: grammatim@verizon.net   
      
   On Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 4:19:51 PM UTC-4, John Levine wrote:   
   > It appears that Peter T. Daniels  said:    
      
   [But he didn't.]   
   > >> Interesting point. The preload bonus is going away with OMNY. My    
   > >> credit card gives me about a 1.5% rebate, which I guess is a less than    
   > >> what the preload was.    
   > >> On the other hand, if you preload a card and then don't spend it    
   > >> for a year, that in effect costs you 5%.    
   > >How so? No one is paying 5% interest on regular accounts.   
   >   
   > Well, OK, my bank is paying 4.6%. I could get 4.8% somewhere else    
   > but for that little it's not worth switching. The money market fund    
   > that comes with my Vanguard account pays 5.04%.   
      
   What sort of minimum balance do you need to maintain? What it pays    
   you in interest, it makes up in fees.   
      
   60 years ago, savings banks paid 3% - 3.5% interest on savings accounts    
   (but not on checking accounts). By "the miracle of compound interest,"    
   your untouched principal would double in under 20 years. It crept up to    
   5.5% or so, but with the Ford/Carter inflation, double-digit interest didn't    
   last very long.   
      
   > >> I don't see any point to the prepaid OMNY cards unless you absolutely    
   > >> do not have a bank account in any form. They cost $5 and are no better    
   > >> than any other debit card.    
   > >We'll see whether there's a charge for the first Senior card.    
   > >I most certainly never use a debit card. (My Chase ATM card happens to be    
   > >a debit card, but I would never use it to pay for anything.)   
   >   
   > I was thinking of debit cards tied to Cash App or Venmo. They're free,    
   > and you can only spend what's in the account. Or you can use a credit    
   > card like a normal person, one less card in your wallet, maybe get a    
   > small rebate.   
      
   More apps to collect your data, bombard you with ads, charge you fees.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)