Is this idea a scam??

mentalfloss

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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So I'll probably be going away mid next year to visit some family members overseas.

My in-laws suggested this idea where we sign up for a credit card (with an air plan) for the travel bonus points and then "downgrade" the card later. We would essentially be able to save around $400-$500 off of the airline ticket.

Is this a scam?

Do you think people can/should get away with this?

I'm a bit worried because it sounds kind of fishy, but I google'd around and can't find anything about it.
 
JLM

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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mentalfloss said:
So I'll probably be going away mid next year to visit some family members overseas.

My in-laws suggested this idea where we sign up for a credit card (with an air plan) for the travel bonus points and then "downgrade" the card later. We would essentially be able to save around $400-$500 off of the airline ticket.

Is this a scam?

Do you think people can/should get away with this?

I'm a bit worried because it sounds kind of fishy, but I google'd around and can't find anything about it.
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I guess the only way to find out is to try it, but I really doubt if it's possible for an individual to scam a company,short of breaking into the joint after hours with burglar's tools. :lol: I'd say the chances are a lot better that you will be the one ending up getting scammed. Of subject, the other day I stupidly down loaded a "free" program off the net (Jo's games) and found out the "free" part was good for 5 days, so never used it at all. Sure enough on the sixth day there was a $40 charge to my VISA. Hopefully it's reversed.
 
SLM

SLM

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My guess would be that they count on people signing up for the exact same reasons as you are mentioning and are betting that the majority of them never get around to downgrading it.

I'd read the fine print carefully in case there's some kind of penalty for cancelling within a certain time. (Do you forfeit the points, that sort of thing).
 
petros

petros

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Nov 21, 2008
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mentalfloss said:
So I'll probably be going away mid next year to visit some family members overseas.

My in-laws suggested this idea where we sign up for a credit card (with an air plan) for the travel bonus points and then "downgrade" the card later. We would essentially be able to save around $400-$500 off of the airline ticket.

Is this a scam?

Do you think people can/should get away with this?

I'm a bit worried because it sounds kind of fishy, but I google'd around and can't find anything about it.
Click to expand...
AreoPlan?
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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petros said:
How often do you fly scAir Canada?
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I never knew you were like this in all threads, lol

SLM said:
Are you making a point?

:wink:
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Well..how.. what..

 
SLM

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
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mentalfloss said:
Seriously though.. are you supposed to be senior lm and he's junior lm?
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Nope. No relation what so ever. (I mean, I'm not stupid, of course I played the "Sure you're not my wealthy uncle?" card when I first joined. Just in case. ;) )

My username is just my intials. I assume it's the same for him as well.

Coincidence is all.
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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SLM said:
Nope. No relation what so ever. (I mean, I'm not stupid, of course I played the "Sure you're not my wealthy uncle?" card when I first joined. Just in case. :wink: )

My username is just my intials. I assume it's the same for him as well.

Coincidence is all.
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Ah.. fair enough. I don't see you post that often, but never had a problem when you do which is a refreshing change from all us loons in here.

petros said:
Kissin' cousins?
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Are you sure you're not Adam Curry?

Do you listen to the No Agenda podcast, cuz your posts mimic his ideas to a tee.
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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petros said:
Who the hell is Adam Curry?
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He used to be an MTV VJ, but I think he got fired later on. He came back and sued them for whatever reason, but he does this podcast now called No Agenda. He's pretty fiscally conservative which you might like, but him and the co-host John Dvorak do a podcast twice a week. He has shades of Howard Stern, but his shtick is basically political commentary with media news bites (ala Jon Stewart or Colbert). He'll go off on all politicians and the media, but is pretty much a libertarian so he seems to favour Ron Paul.

But yea, his sense of humour reminds me a lot of yours. For instance, he calls the U.S. - "Gitmo Nation".. well.. the original "Gitmo Nation".. all other nations are "Gitmo Nation" + some stupid pet name... like France is Gitmo Nation Stinky Cheese. And he calls Obama - George W. Obama. It's mostly U.S. stuff but he did do some commentary on the recent meet up between Hilary Clinton (whom he calls Lucifer Clinton) and Baird.

Anyway, I think I've shilled enough here. You should check it out when you get a chance.

SLM said:
Nope, I'm a totally different type of loon. Refreshing, ain't it?

:icon_smile:
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Well I'd rate you moderate on the loonie scale.

Get Durry or YukonJack in here and I'm sure the scale would blow a fuse.
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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petros said:
Fitting. Very fitting. I found the podcast.

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Yea, Obama recently made some comments about making sure that the American public can "get by".. somewhere later in the speech he mentioned the "American Dream".. so now it has become a recurrent gag that Obama's American Dream is the dream of just getting by.

Adam's supposed to be the "crackpot" (with tinfoil hat) and John is the "buzzkill" (realist).
 
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