Luke posted about this on SIAI blog. Essentially, you can get a credit card with cash-back rewards program that automatically donates money to Singularity Institute.
This seems to me like a dream come true. Am I missing something? Are there any catches? Is there a better rewards program, which I can use to save more money, so I can donate more money to SIAI?
From the Important Disclosures page of the application:
Anyone who has lots of knowledge about credit card terms care to chime in about how good these terms are? 126/9000 = 1.4%
Rejected. Something about making less than $5000 a year, being 18, and not having a house/apartment made Capital One not trust that I would pay back my bills every month.
I got a Capital One credit card (to use in Scotland, because my debit card wouldn't work there) when I was 18. It was attached to my dad's account somehow, but had my name on it. I was a student and didn't make any money or have a place of my own. Do you have a relative who might be willing to bet on your ability to pay your bills? I can ask my dad how he arranged it if it would be helpful.
I don't think that would work. All of the questions were specifically about my income and bank account, not anyone who would help pay.
Also, they almost outright say that I will be autorejected if I try to apply again in the next 45 days.
It's a standard Visa Cash Rewards card, with the rewards automatically going to the Singularity Institute instead of to you.
After significant research several years ago, I switched to a credit card which has the same percentage values, just provided as cash to me. This was after doing a diligent search of credit card rewards programs and finding the one most compatible with my personal interests (not flight points, etc.). Since the percentages are the same across card providers, I'm thinking it's generally a good deal.
The funny thing I liked to do with the card was to donate to SingInst - after donating, I get 1% cash back on the donation, which I then donate later. If I used this one, it would simply be increasing the amount of donation by 1% without the paperwork in between.
Here's a good article on choosing a credit card from Get Rich Slowly which notes that it is just a tool, and that the interest rates, penalties, fees, and everything else should be taken into account before signing up. From that article, it looks like you might be able to earn slightly more cash back if you have a Schwab Brokerage account or a Costco membership.
One advantage of the affinity card is that it makes use of human psychology to make philanthropy easier for human beings.
... I don't get the point of this. Is there some cultural US thing related to credit cards that make them a viable strategy or am I just being stupid?
In the US, credit cards convey many legal and financial protections not available otherwise, including built-in car insurance for rental cars, the ability to contest any payment and thereby receive a refund, and no liability for fraudulent purchases. As someone who pays the bill on time, using my no-fee rewards card for the last several years has also netted me more than $500 in free money.
Some nations give such protections to all their citizens regardless of payment form.
Here's an article from Get Rich Slowly which discusses the benefits of credit card use in more detail.
O_o
I'm not sure I even want to know how somehting that insane and arbitrary could become a rule. I probably do thou, as a cautionary tale.
This program is presumably directed at countries where credit card use is already common. If you happen to use a credit card anyway (and this deal is available where you live), then switching to this is an essentially no-cost way of donating to SIAI (unless you have a rewards program on your card that's very good). If you don't live somewhere where credit cards are acceptable/viable, or if you don't have one personally, it probably isn't a good option for you.
The question is basically how good the rewards program is. If you can get better rewards even in different areas (for instance, plane tickets if you travel a lot), then you could potentially save more money that way, and then donate the saved money to SIAI.
Sure, you may not actually donate in practice. But you could (with just a small amount of extra effort) set up your bank account to automatically transfer a certain amount of money each month to SIAI. If the rewards program for the credit card gives less monetary value than the best rewards program you have access to, then you are basically paying the credit card company because you are too lazy to set up an automatic transfer for your bank account.
In my mind, this would amount to paying the credit card company a monthly fee in order to help you overcome akrasia once. It would be different if they were helping you overcome akrasia every single month, or if you actually are such a chronic akrasia sufferer that you can't even fill out a form at your local bank. My estimate is that for most people this is not the case.
From the documentation: "This offer is nontransferable and void to residents of GU, PR, VI and all other U.S. dependent areas." There's also no place to enter 'country' on the application, which leads me to believe this is for US 50-states residents only.
From the Important Disclosures page of the application:
Anyone who has lots of knowledge about credit card terms care to chime in about how good these terms are? 126/9000 = 1.4%